Fear And Friendship
by NightReader22
Summary: Sam and Dean receive a frantic call about something killing students at Stanford. Can they figure out this case before more people die, some of them old friends? Set Season 11, slightly AU, minimal spoilers.
1. Chapter 1: Reaching Out

**The characters in this story were introduced in Not Mine and Caught in the Middle, so I recommend reading those first if you haven't already! (Note: I wrote Caught in the Middle first, but chronologically it is second)**

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 **Chapter One: Reaching Out**

 _You've reached Dean Winchester, leave your name, number and monster at the tone._

 _BEEP_

 _Dean? Come on Dean, please pick up. It's Emily, I need your help. Students are dying, Dean. I…I think there's a monster here… It's killing medical students…. Oh! I moved, I'm studying at Stanford now…please call me back!_

 _It's Sam, leave a message._

 _BEEP_

 _Sam? Where are you guys! Another girl just died! Please! I'm scared, Sam._

 _You've reached Dean Winchester, leave your name, number and monster at the tone._

 _BEEP_

 _Um, Dean? Hi, it's…ah…Taylor. I know it's been a while, but…call me…please._

 _It's Sam, leave a message._

 _BEEP_

 _I can't get hold of Dean, Sam…Can one of you call me? Please…I think I need your help._

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 **Hi everybody! Sorry for the long wait for this one! Real life got in the way! And I know it's a bit of a teaser chapter, but I figured that if I put up the first bit it would make sure I got my butt in gear and kept writing!**

 **I will do my best to update at least a couple of times a week! I hope you all enjoy the story!**


	2. Chapter 2: No Rest

"Ow. Just once I'd like a wendigo to go down without all the fuss!" I complained to Dean as he pressed my hand more firmly onto the towel against the gash in my upper arm.

Dean chuckled, putting his hand back on the wheel once he was sure I was putting enough pressure on the wound. "Aw, Sammy, it's not his fault you chose to stand still while you shot the flare gun."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I wouldn't have had to get so close if you hadn't let him throw you at the wall."

Dean grimaced, rubbing his hand over the side of his head, then smirked. "Lucky I have such a hard head, huh?"

I laughed, "Don't know about lucky…but I'm not going to deny you're hard headed."

He shrugged, "You're just jealous."

I chuckled, leaning back against the seat and watching the trees fly by as we drove out of the forest. I made sure to keep pressure on the towel, it was a deep cut, Dean would have to stitch it when we got back to civilisation.

Despite the beating we'd both got, I was glad for the no fuss, regular hunt. It seemed that every time we turned around we were facing some 'big bad' or another. But this, this had been a straightforward hunt for a wendigo that had been taking hunters (the wild game sort) in the forests of Minnesota.

Totally off the grid for a couple of days out in the bush, just the two of us doing what we did best. It had been relaxing…in a weird sort of way.

There was a bump as the road turned from dirt to bitumen and I winced slightly.

"Soon as we get into town I'll book us a room and fix that up for you." Dean said.

I nodded. "Should be back in cell range soon, too." I commented.

As if to prove my point my phone chose that moment to start beeping, indicating I had a text waiting to be read.

And then, it beeped again…and again…and again.

Dean's phone started doing the same.

We looked at each other. "Ah crap." Dean muttered. I nodded. There was no way this was good.

I looked at my phone, seeing that I had several missed calls on top of the missed messages.

I scrolled through the messages. The first couple were from Emily, all asking me to call her ASAP, she was pretty sure she had a case for us. "Looks like Emily found us a case…" I commented to Dean as I kept scrolling.

I wasn't too surprised to hear from Emily, we'd talked to her a few times since we ran into her on a witch hunt earlier in the year.

But the rest of the messages…

"Looks like Taylor needs help too…" I frowned, reading through the collection of frustratingly vague messages from both of them.

"Taylor?" Dean asked, clearly trying to place the name.

"Yeah, you know, that girl who got body swapped with me a few years back…" I moved to the couple of voicemail messages.

"Oh yeah! Dean grinned, "I liked her."

I smirked, "Oh I know. And she sure liked you."

I pressed play on the first voice mail and Emily's voice filled the car.

 _"_ _Sam? Where are you guys! Another girl just died! Please! I'm scared, Sam."_

She definitely sounded scared. I was getting worried now.

"Another girl?" Dean questioned. I shrugged, none of the messages had mentioned a girl dying.

I pressed play on the second voice mail, and this time it was Taylor's voice.

 _"_ _I can't get hold of Dean, Sam…Can one of you call me? Please…I think I need your help."_

"She sounds scared too." I said, looking at Dean.

He nodded. "I don't think we're going to be stopping in town long."

I sighed, "Yeah…but where do we go? Taylor was still at college last we saw her, but who knows where she is now. And when I talked to Emily last, she was talking about moving away from her small town life."

"I guess we call them both. See where they're at, and who needs us more urgently." Dean said.

I nodded, that made the most sense…though I didn't like the idea of having to tell one of them that they would have to wait. Both girls had only been dragged into the world of the supernatural because of us. I couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for keeping them both safe.

"Let me see your phone. It sounds like they probably tried to contact you too."

Dean nodded and fished the phone out of his pocket.

I flinched when I reached over for the phone, having momentarily forgotten the wound I was still holding the towel on.

Dean frowned, "Whatever you find, we're not going anywhere until I treat that arm of yours."

"Yeah, ok." I knew he was right, and even if I didn't, it would be pointless to argue with him.

We reached the outskirts of town as I scrolled through Dean's phone. "Much of the same." I told him, before pressing play on the first of his voicemail messages.

 _"_ _Dean? Come on Dean, please pick up. It's Emily, I need your help. Students are dying, Dean. I…I think there's a monster here… It's killing medical students…. Oh! I moved, I'm studying at Stanford now…please call me back!"_

I stared at the phone for a moment.

"No wonder she sounded so scared." Dean said quietly "I'm guessing that message was before the one on your phone?"

I checked the dates and nodded, "Yeah. That one was from three days ago…and the one on mine is from yesterday morning."

Dean pulled into the first motel we passed, then looked at me. "You ok?"

I shrugged, "I'm fine. Let's get patched up so we can get over there."

I didn't want to talk about the fact that I would have been quite happy to never go near that place again. It held too many memories.

He stared at me for a moment more, then let it go.

"There any more messages?" He asked.

I nodded, pressing play on the other one.

 _"_ _Um, Dean? Hi, it's…ah…Taylor. I know it's been a while, but…call me…please."_

I frowned, "Well, that's even more vague than the one on my phone." I shrugged, "I'll try calling her while you book a room, but it looks like we're going to Stanford…"

Dean frowned at me, no doubt picking up on the mixed emotions that the idea dredged up. Thankfully didn't comment, just nodded and headed for the motel reception.

I pressed redial on one of the missed calls from Taylor on my phone, putting it on speaker when I found that I couldn't hold it to my ear and keep pressure on my arm at the same time.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! And we are off! Hooray!**

 **Thankyou to sherlockedbyben and Lady Nivian for your reviews!**

 **And thankyou to everyone who has read, followed, and even favourite-ed already! You guys are awesome!**

 **Also, you might have noticed that I don't usually set my stories in a specific location. I find it easier, as I don't live in America! (Aussie here! ;) ) But in order to do what I wanted with this story I have set it at Stanford. So, if you notice any errors related to location, or the American college system, please let me know! Either leave a review or send me a PM! I'd love to hear your feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3: Quick Stop

The guy at the front desk smirked at me when I booked a room for three hours. He leaned around the desk, looking out the front windows.

"So…who's the lucky girl…" He stopped, raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, "eh, each to their own." He passed me the key and my current fake ID. "Have fun dude."

I chuckled and walked out without another word. Let him think we were a couple. It would result in far less questions and issues than if he realised we were actually booking the room so that we had somewhere private to stitch up the wound on Sam's arm.

Most motels didn't appreciate people leaving bloody towels and sheets when they left a room. One of the reasons we were sure to use fake IDs, and keep housekeeping out until we were long gone.

"What are you smirking about?" Sam asked me as I got back in the car to move it round to our room.

"Oh nothing…" I chuckled. "I only booked for a couple of hours…figured we'd better get back on the road today so we can get to Stanford sooner."

Sam smirked, it was not the first time one of us had booked for a couple of hours. He looked in at the reception guy, who was not so subtly staring at us, and gave him a cheery little wave.

We both cracked up as he quickly turned away, clearly embarrassed to be caught out.

I pulled into our allocated car park and gave Sam the room key. "I'll get the duffels, you go in and start cleaning up."

Sam nodded, "And then we need to talk about Taylor and Emily."

"Ok." I got the impression it wasn't good news.

I headed round to the trunk while he headed inside, pulling out both our duffels and the bag of first aid supplies.

I closed the trunk and sighed. I had been hoping for a couple of couple of quiet days to rest and recover before getting back to work on tracking down Amara…looked like I was getting neither.

Still, it wasn't like we had a choice. Both those girls were pulled into this life because they happened to get close to us. We had a responsibility for them now…them and far too many others. Luckily, most of them managed to move on with their lives without any further contact with us.

Of course, there were always those who weren't so lucky. And the ones that got dragged in more than once were usually the ones that never quite got out again.

I hoped for their sake that it was a false alarm. Just a run of the mill human psychopath.

I headed inside.

"Seriously Dean?" Sam had removed his jacket and shirts and was sitting on the edge of the one bed in the room.

I shrugged, "Well, it was the cheapest room they had, and it's not like we're going to be sleeping…or anything else." I smirked at him and he rolled his eyes at me.

I dropped the bags onto the bed behind him and opened the first aid bag.

"Here, take these." I passed him a bottle of painkillers. "Want some water?"

He nodded. I filled a plastic cup in the bathroom…I wasn't kidding when I said this place was cheap. While I was in there I grabbed a towel and wet one half.

I gave Sam the cup, and waited for him to finish it before starting to clean around the wound. "Ok, so what's the story?" I asked, knowing that he'd waited so that he had something to distract him while I worked. Even with painkillers, the prescription kind, stitching his arm was still going to hurt like hell.

He hissed with pain when I touched the wound, then took a deep breath. "Well, I got hold of Taylor. You're not going to believe this…she's at Stanford. She was trying to contact us to tell us about someone, or something, killing medical students."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean both of them found us the same case?"

"Looks that way." He grit he teeth as I poured alcohol over the wound, our usual substitute for proper disinfectant.

"Ahh, they grow up so fast." I sighed, getting a slight chuckle out of him, before I started to stitch together the nasty wound. "Bastard got in a good shot." I commented.

"I know." He grumbled. "Have I mentioned how much I dislike wendigos?"

I pretended to think about that for a moment. "Oh, yeah, only about a hundred times…in the past two days."

"Shut up. You complained more than I did." He retorted. "And by the way, I'm checking that head of yours when you're done there. Hard headed or not, that was a nasty whack."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure Sammy, whatever makes you feel better."

"Anyway…" Sam continued, "According to Taylor whatever it is has killed a student a day for the past four days. All of them were medical students. And all of them were found, torn apart, on the college grounds."

I grimaced, "Nasty. Anything else that indicates it's our sort of thing?"

He shrugged the shoulder on his uninjured side, "Not that she knew of, but by the sound of it the cops are stumped. And she's scared. Guess what's she's studying these days?"

I groaned, "Let me guess, medicine?"

He nodded. "I told Taylor we'd be there in a couple of days."

"You get hold of Emily?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, but I left her a message. Let her know that we were on our way."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Hope you are all enjoying the story!**

 **Thankyou to catetay for reviewing!**

 **Welcome to my new followers and favourite-ers!**


	4. Chapter 4: Taylor

I just about cried with relief when Sam's number came up on my phone. It was after classes finished, and was walking back to the dorms with my friends at the time.

They all looked at me curiously, wondering who was calling. "One moment." I told them, and stepped away a little. Just far enough to have some privacy, but still keep them in sight.

They stopped, chatting amongst themselves while they waited for me. After the second student was found no one had gone anywhere on campus alone.

Didn't stop two more from dying since.

The whole campus was living in fear.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone, hoping that Sam and Dean would be able to help.

"Sam! You have no idea how glad I am to hear from you. I was starting to worry that, maybe, you didn't want to talk to me." I took another deep breath to try and keep the emotions that were sitting to close to the surface from bursting forth.

"Oh Taylor, I am so sorry! Of course we still want to talk to you!" I felt a little bad for bringing it up, he sounded genuinely upset that I would think that. "We've been out of phone range for the past couple of days." He continued, "I only just got your messages. You said you needed help, is everything ok?"

I fought the urge to cry at the concern in his voice…it hadn't taken much to make me cry today. "I…um…No. I'm not ok." I finally admitted.

"What's wrong? How can I help?" Was his immediate response, making me smile just a fraction, knowing that he still cared after so long.

"There's…students are…their dying, Sam." I sniffed, then continued before he could comment. I didn't think that I could continue if I stopped. "I'm scared, Sam. I…I don't know if it's your sort of thing or not. But, I was hoping…maybe…you could come…and do…something."

A tear escaped and ran down my face. One of my friends saw and started moving towards me, a worried look on her face. I waved her away, mouthing 'It's ok.' She stayed there, but continued to watch me, ready if I changed my mind.

"Of course we will. Even if it's not something supernatural, I'm sure we can still help." He assured me. "Why don't you start by telling me where you are?"

"Yeah, ok." It had been years since I'd even spoken to them, of course they wouldn't know where I was these days. "I'm at Stanford, I went back to college this year. I decided that I wanted help people instead of animals, so I'm doing medicine now."

I expected him to have some sort of comment on my decision to go back to college. Most people thought I was crazy, some thought it was worth celebrating. But there was silence on the other end of the phone. "Sam? You still there?"

"Um, yeah." He cleared his throat, "You're at Stanford, Stanford University?" I couldn't quite place the emotion in his voice.

"Yes. Why, what's wrong?" I asked.

"And students are dying." He sighed. "What else can you tell me?"

Apparently he didn't want to talk about it. He and Dean had had strange reactions when college was brought up when I first met them too.

"It…The first one…They found her, I think, four days ago." I took a deep breath, trying to give him the facts without breaking down. "It was one of the girls in my class. So far all of them have been medical students."

"I'm so sorry." Sam said quietly.

"Thanks. I…I didn't know the first three girls all that well, it's a big class, but this morning…" I swallowed a couple of times, working to keep it together. "Well, we thought the boys were safe till this morning…Then they found Tom."

Tom had been my friend. Suddenly it all seemed a whole lot more real. It wasn't just 'other people' who were in danger.

There was a sad sigh on the other end of the phone. "I wish we didn't have to do this over the phone." Sam said, and I had to agree with him, "But the more we know before we get there, the quicker we'll be able to find out what's going on and hopefully put a stop to it."

"I know." I said quietly, "It's ok."

"So, you said this started four days ago?" He prompted gently when I didn't continue.

"Um, yeah, the student who found her…they thought she'd been mauled by an animal at first. She was…she was torn apart Sam." I couldn't help the sob escaping, and had to once again reassure my patiently waiting friends that I didn't need them to come over.

"Crap." Sam muttered quietly.

I nodded my agreement with the sentiment. "But then the police came, and suddenly the area was roped off as a crime scene and they were saying that a person had done this. When they found the second girl the next day, that's…that's when I started trying to contact you. They've found a body each morning since. I don't think the police have any clue who is doing it."

"Don't worry, we're pretty good at solving cases that have police stumped." Sam assured me, "Even when there's nothing supernatural involved."

"So you're coming?" I asked to be sure.

"Of course." Sam said, then sighed, "but, it'll be a couple of days. I'm sorry. We're out in Minnesota at the moment, but we'll head off today and get there as fast as we can, ok?"

"Ok." I whispered, not wanting to voice the fear that I could be next. A couple of days could be too late.

"You'll be ok," He said quietly, easily reading the fear in my voice. "Just, stay inside at night and with big groups during the day." He recommended.

"Already am." I told him.

There was a slight chuckle on the other end, "Good. Oh, and…if you have any silver jewellery…wear it."

"Um, ok." I was tempted to ask what he thought it was and why I needed silver, but decided that it was less scary to live in hope that it was just a sick human.

"If you need anything call, ok? We'll be there soon." Sam reminded me.

"Ok, Sam. Thank you. See you soon." I hung up and put the phone in my pocket.

My friend took that as permission to approach and wrapped me in a hug. "You look like you need it." She said quietly.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! So, some more clues for those sleuths who want to try and work out what monster we've got this time! ;)**

 **Thankyou to Lady Nivian for reviewing!**


	5. Chapter 5: Emily

I only half listened to the rest of the group chatting about the assignment our professor had handed out today. I mean, really? With everything going on, he couldn't postpone a damn essay?

Most of my attention was on Taylor. Despite her silent assurances that she was fine, I knew something was up.

We'd only met a couple of months back, hitting it off when we realised that we were taking the same classes. I don't think there was anyone else here majoring in Medicine, and then minoring in Anthropology. Probably because the anthropology professor liked to focus on myths and monsters. Which was, of course, why I'd chosen it.

I hoped it was the phone call she'd been waiting on for the past couple of days. She refused to tell me who she was trying to contact, but I could tell it was important to her. She'd been getting more and more tense with each unanswered call and message.

Not that I could judge too much. Apart from the fact that the whole campus was on edge right now, I'd been feeling increasingly tense with my unsuccessful attempts to get hold of Sam and Dean.

I was increasingly sure that this was their sort of thing, and I found it incredibly frustrating that the one time I needed to contact them for a case was the one time I couldn't get hold of them.

Of course they might have tried to get hold of me today, when I'd stupidly left my phone back at the dorms.

"What do you think Emily?" Sari asked, and I turned to give her a confused look, having not heard whatever it was she wanted my opinion on. "Never mind. It'll take her some time, her and Tom were close." She commented.

I nodded, "I know. Doesn't mean I can't worry about her."

They all nodded.

"Until they catch this nut job I'm going to worry about everyone." Amelia said.

There was a moment of silence while we all considered that, then they chose to continue their previous conversation, choosing essay topics for the assignment.

I zoned them out again. I could see how they would rather not think about what was going on, but I'd rather not live in the dark. I'd tried that. It had just led to more fear. Knowing what was out there, how to spot it and what to (theoretically) do about it, ended up making me feel safer.

Taylor was crying, but still made it clear that she wanted her privacy, and so I waited.

Finally she hung up the phone and tucked it into her pocket. I took that as permission and strode over to her, wrapping her in a hug.

"You look like you need it." I told her quietly.

After a moment she hugged me back, holding me tight for a few moments before letting go.

I moved back a little, "Want to talk about it?"

She considered it for a moment. "It was an old friend of mine. You know those two feds I told you about? The two that saved me from a couple of psychos when I was younger?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I still keep in touch with them from time to time. I'm hoping they might be able to help find the current psycho. They'll be here in a couple of days." She said with a shrug that said she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

I nodded, "That's good thinking." I gave her a smile, "Come on, let's get back to the dorms and cleaned up before the dinner rush."

She nodded, and we headed back to the group to join in the comfortingly normal course discussions.

Or at least she joined in. I was thinking that I really needed to get hold of Sam and Dean. I was pretty sure this case was their domain, not that of the FBI, and I hoped their fake FBI status would stand up to close contact with the actual FBI.

When we reached the dorms the group split up into pairs, everyone heading for their rooms with whoever had the closest room. Even inside, no one wanted to be alone right now.

Taylor and I were lucky enough to be just a couple of rooms apart, and so the two of us waved to the others and headed for our corridor.

We walked in silence, both busy with our own thoughts until we reached my room. "Dinner in 15?" I confirmed our usual arrangement.

Emily nodded, "Yup."

I waited for her to open her own door before heading into my room, closing and locking the door behind me.

I kicked off my shoes with a sigh and headed over to my bed, flopping down onto my stomach and closing my eyes for a few moments before leaning down to pick up my phone. It was still sitting on the floor next to the bed, where I had left it charging this morning.

"Idiot" I muttered to myself. I mean, seriously, of all the times to go forgetting my phone, I did it while there was a killer on the loose.

I turned the screen on and was instantly distracted from my stupidity by a missed call and a message, both from Sam.

I cleared the missed call and checked the message.

 _Hi Emily, sorry I missed your calls, we've been out of phone range. Sounds like you've got a case down there, so we are on our way. Give us a call when you get this, Sam._

I let out a sigh of relief. They were coming. Thank God. I just hoped they got here before too many more people died.

I sat up and called him back.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I love the chance to put both my OC's together! I hope you guys enjoy! And I have finally finished the cover image for this story, so check it out and let me know what you think!**

 **Thank you to sensualxstacy and Sallyannerenee for reviewing!**

 **Welcome to my latest followers and favourite-ers!**


	6. Chapter 6: Contact

As soon as Sam was stitched, and we had both cleaned off the collected grime of a couple of days out in the woods, we hit the road.

"That was quick." The guy at the counter commented when I handed him back the key. I just grinned and walked out.

Sam gave the guy another, even cheerier, wave.

I was taking the first shift in the driver's seat. I wasn't letting Sam anywhere near the driver's seat of my Baby until the pain killers I'd given him had worn off.

"So, what do the news reports say?" I asked him as I headed out of town.

Sam was sitting in the passenger seat with his laptop on his lap, looking for further information on the murders at Stanford.

"Pretty much the same as what Taylor said. Four students have been found torn apart, one every morning for the past four days. All were found at different locations on campus. The first three were female, the one this morning was male. All have been first year medical students." Sam gave me the cliff notes of the several news pages he currently had open.

"And what are the police saying?" I asked

Sam shrugged, "Not a lot publicly. Just that they are doing everything possible to identify the killer and keep students safe."

"So they got nothing." I completed.

Sam nodded, "Nothing that they're sharing with the press. I'll make some calls."

He closed the laptop and reached for his phone. It chose that moment to start ringing, and he jumped, dropping the phone.

I snorted, "Yep, and that's why you are not driving right now."

Sam poked his tongue out at me before leaning over to pick up the phone. "It's Emily." He informed me as he answered.

"Put it on speaker."

He nodded, holding the phone between us. "Hi Emily, you're on speaker."

"Hey Sam, hi Dean. You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice." Emily said, relief evident in her voice.

"Good to hear from you too." I told her.

"We were worried when we couldn't get hold of you." Sam said.

"Think of how I felt." She replied.

"Sorry Emily. Apparently we chose a poor time to go off grid." I commented. "I hear you have a case for us."

Emily sighed, "Yeah. One way too close for comfort. I'm glad you guys are coming. How far away were you when you got my messages?"

"Um, Minessota." Sam told her apologetically. "We're going to get there as quick as possible…but it'll still be a couple of days."

"Oh." You could hear her disappointment. "Well…no offence, but that sucks."

I chuckled a little, "Yeah, we know, sorry."

"There'll probably be more deaths by then." She said, not quite managing a matter of fact tone.

Sam sighed, "Yeah, I'm going to make some calls and see if we can't help from here."

"Oh! About that…Um, one of my friends here happens to know a couple of FBI agents…And they're on their way too, sooo…be careful, ok?"

"Ok." I told her, "We'll be careful."

Sam and I exchanged amused looks.

"What's your friend's name?" Sam asked casually

"Taylor." She said hesitantly, "Why?"

Sam looked at me questioningly, and I shook my head slightly. If neither of them had wanted to tell the other, then it wasn't our place to tell them. They'd both work it out soon enough.

"Oh, just wondering." Sam replied. "So can you tell us anything else about the murders that might help?"

"Well…whatever it is, it's killing one student each night, tearing them up and leaving them around campus to be found in the morning." Emily told us in a detached sort of voice.

"And…they're all medical students? Like you?" Sam confirmed quietly.

There was a pause. "Yeah." She finally said quietly.

"How are you holding up?" He asked her, making sure she knew that we cared about her, not just the case.

"I'm scared." She said honestly. "I'm taking precautions…everyone is. You know, not going anywhere alone, staying inside after dark. Wearing my silver necklace…"

I raised an eyebrow, "Silver necklace, huh?" I was a little impressed, actually.

"Yeah…well, since I talked to you last I changed my mind on the whole I-don't-want-to-know thing." You could almost hear the shrug in her voice. "I started doing some research, even chose anthropology for my minor…the professor has a thing for monster mythology. And it seems that silver is something that a lot of things don't like."

Sam looked impressed too. "That's great. I'd love to hear more about what you're learning when we get there."

"Sure, maybe I can teach you a thing or two…" She laughed.

I chuckled, "You never know."

"Oh! I need to get going, I'm walking down to the dining hall with Taylor in about five minutes and I'm not ready yet!" Emily exclaimed.

Sam laughed, "We won't hold you then. Give us a call if you need anything. We'll let you know when we get there."

"Ok, thanks again for coming straight away. Talk to you later."

"No, problem." I replied.

"Talk to you later." Sam told her, and then hung up.

Sam looked at the phone for a moment and shook his head slightly before starting to laugh. "I know it's a serious case and all…but really? Somehow the two of them have wound up at the same school, in the same class…and friends." He shook his head again, "I mean…what are the chances?"

I joined in his laughter. "I know…and both of them can pick up the same case, but be totally clueless about each other!" I smirked, "This is going to be interesting."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far! I hope you liked the latest update!**

 **Thankyou to sensualxstacy, Lady Nivian and Sallyannerenee for the great reviews!**

 **Welcome to my latest followers and favourite-ers!**


	7. Chapter 7: Attempting Normal

Once I was in my room I got changed and washed my face. I didn't want everyone to know I'd been crying when I reached the dining hall. Not that anyone would be surprised, there had been more and more people crying on campus with each body found.

Still, I wasn't usually a crying in public sort of person and I didn't really feel like changing that image.

Part of me really wanted to just pull away from the whole world and mourn the loss of a friend. But at the same time I didn't feel like I could let my guard down enough to do so while the killer was still out there. Maybe when this was all over…

So I decided to try for normality instead. And that meant getting tidied up, going to dinner and then to the library to study with Taylor.

I grabbed my study bag and made sure I had the books I would need to work on our current medical and anthropology assignments.

Just before I left the room I remembered Sam's advice, and added a little extra to my outfit…the silver bracelet my parents had given me for my birthday.

I locked my door and walked up the hall to knock on Emily's door.

"One second!" She called.

"Ok, it's just me." I called back, before leaning against the wall beside the door to wait.

The halls were strangely quiet. There were a couple of people talking quietly as they headed for the dining hall, but no one was lingering in the hallway chatting and laughing like you could usually expect.

There was an atmosphere of sadness and fear that seemed to have seeped into the building.

Finally Emily's door opened. I turned and broke into a smile.

She had apparently decided to counteract the atmosphere of the building with a bright yellow shirt covered and purple skirt. I couldn't help but notice that she was wearing her own silver jewellery. A necklace which, now I thought about it, she never took off.

"Love the outfit." I told her and she grinned.

"Well, being sad all the time is depressing." She informed me, "So I decided we both needed a break. This is for you." She held out a butterfly hair clip.

I smirked. "I don't think I've worn butterfly clips since I was six." I told her.

"Well then, I guess you're overdue." She reached out and clipped it into my hair…right on top of my head.

I looked up, trying to imagine how ridiculous it looked, then shrugged. "Thanks."

"No problem." She smiled, and then gave me a hug.

I hugged her back, closing my eyes for a moment when I realised just how much I had needed it.

When I let her go she gave me a gentle pat on the back, then leant inside her door to pick up her study bag. "I wasn't sure if you'd feel like studying..." She explained, then gestured to my own bag, "But, study it is."

I nodded, "Yup, now come on, let's get to the dining hall before all the good stuff goes."

She locked her door and we headed down the hall.

When we reached the dining hall it was packed with students, but strangely quiet. Everywhere we looked there were small groups of friends whispering and looking around suspiciously.

Emily and I looked at each other, neither of us needed to say it out loud. 'What now?'

I looked around, trying to spot Sari and Amelia, but the room was just too busy.

"There's Michael and Hudson." Emily nodded towards the serving area.

They were both in our anthropology class, and had been friends with Tom too. We headed in their direction, hoping they could tell us what was going on.

The two boys saw us approaching and acknowledged us with a little finger wave.

When we got within reach the two boys wrapped us both in a group hug. "Tom, man. I still can't get my head around it." Hudson said quietly as we pulled apart.

I just nodded.

"What's with everyone?" Emily asked, keeping her voice down.

The two boys glanced around, then moved in closer.

"They're saying it was a student." Michael told us, voice low.

Emily and I exchanged shocked looks. "The…the murders?" I whispered, and both boys nodded.

All three of us took a moment to scan the room, the small groupings and suspicious looks suddenly making sense.

Emily looked a little sceptical, "Did the police say something?"

Hudson shrugged, "Don't know. I heard it from Madison, who heard it from Jamie, who…"

Emily held up a hand to stop him, "Ok, I get the idea."

Hudson nodded.

Michael spoke up again. "Have you guys eaten?" We shook our heads. "Well, you should probably get in line. Looks like everyone's decided to eat early tonight."

I nodded, "Ok, thanks guys." I gave each of them another hug, and we went our separate ways. The two boys heading out of the dining room, and we joined the quiet line of students waiting for dinner.

"Do you think it could be?" I asked Emily.

"I guess anything's possible." She shrugged, "Maybe your FBI friends will be able to work it out."

I nodded a little, wondering what Sam and Dean would do if it did turn out to be just a dangerously crazy student.

"I just wish they could get here sooner…" I said out loud. "There's going to be another found tomorrow…isn't there?"

She just nodded sadly. There was no point denying it. No one had been arrested today, and so whoever…or whatever…it was would be attacking again tonight.

I hoped it wasn't someone I knew…and then felt bad. Even if I didn't know them, plenty of other people would.

I sighed. Taylor just put an arm around me sympathetically. I wrapped an arm around her too, knowing that this had to be just as stressful for her as it was for me.

After a moment she reached out and flicked the butterfly clip gently, breaking the tension a little. "So, what are we eating tonight?"

I went with it. "I don't know about dinner, but for desert I'm definitely in a cookie dough ice cream sort of mood."

She nodded with mock seriousness, "Good choice, good choice."

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	8. Chapter 8: Gathering Intel

"So get this…" Sam started as I opened the door. I smirked and tossed a paper bag of food at him.

He paused to catch the bag and check its contents, a chicken caesar wrap with plenty of rabbit food and not so much chicken, "Awesome, thanks."

"Welcome." I passed him a coffee as well, and then sat down and unwrapped my burger, light on the rabbit with extra bacon, before turning the key and pulling back onto the highway. "What did the campus cops have to say?" I prompted, getting him back on track.

We'd originally tried to get information on the case earlier, after finishing talking to Emily, but had wound up with some stick in the mud cop who wouldn't tell us a damn thing until she could verify our identities. Something which was somewhat of a problem when they were fake…

I missed the days of Bobby clearing up such issues in a matter of minutes. We no longer had Bobby, and even Garth was out of action, but, thankfully, we did have Jody. She was even legitimately law enforcement, and always happy to vouch for us, after making us promise to come visit again soon. We told her we'd love to. I just hoped she would skip the sexual health talk this time…

Still, it had been hours before stick-in-the-mud had called us back, right as we were pulling into an all-night diner somewhere in North Dakota for a late dinner on the go.

"Well, for starters she confirmed what the girls told us. Four bodies so far, each one found on campus in the morning by staff. They were also torn apart in a way that looked like wild animals had done it." Sam paused to take a bite of his wrap.

"Ok, so what made them change their mind?" I asked. "From what Taylor said they decided pretty quickly that it was a murder case."

Sam nodded, "That's because when the ME arrived to examine the first body they realised that she'd been strangled, and further examination showed that that's what killed her."

"Yeah, I'm yet to meet an animal that strangles it's victim before it mauls them." I commented.

"What about pythons?" Sam corrected me, ever the nerd. I rolled my eyes at him. "Anyway," he continued, "They still thought that perhaps a wild animal had had a go at the body after it was dumped, but all the subsequent bodies have been found in the exact same state…way to similar to be random animals finding the bodies."

I waited for him to eat some more of his wrap, knowing him well enough to realise that he was working up to something.

"And then when they did the autopsies, guess what they found." There it is.

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for the answer. He shrugged, as if to say 'fine don't guess.'

"All of their hearts were missing." He finished dramatically.

"So, most likely it's our thing." I commented. "Well, at least the hearts significantly reduce the number of possibilities."

Sam nodded, "Yup, that combined with the bodies that look like they've been attacked by animals…I'm thinking werewolf."

"Yeah, although…they don't usually strangle their victims first." I pointed out.

Sam looked thoughtful, "True. But if you look at the timings of the attacks, it'd have to be a purebred. So, maybe it strangles them while it's human and then changes." He shrugged. "It'd hardly be the strangest thing we've seen."

I couldn't argue with that logic.

"There is some good news." He told me.

"What's that?" I asked.

"There was also evidence that they may have been restrained for a period of time before they were killed. They had bruising around their wrists and ankles."

I couldn't help thinking that being restrained before you were murdered would be a pretty small relief to the victims…but I knew what he meant.

"So, if we get there soon enough after someone is taken, we might be able to save them." I said. Sam nodded.

"Have they worked out how it's getting the students?" I asked.

Sam shook his head. "No, their stumped on that one. All four victims have friends who swear they were safely in bed last they saw them, and none of them had any known reasons to go sneaking out again, especially after the first victim was found."

"Well, we might be able to find some evidence that the local PD missed." I said with a shrug.

I hoped so, because they certainly hadn't given us a lot to go on. Knowing what you were hunting was only half the battle. We still had to find the bastard.

We went quiet, lost in our own thoughts as we finished eating our food and drinking our coffees. I'd got the coffee's double strength, knowing we probably wouldn't stop tonight, just take turns napping in the passenger seat.

If it was a regular case we wouldn't be in so much of a hurry. Let's face it, in our line of work we couldn't pull an all-nighter every time someone's life was at risk. We'd never stop.

But when there were people we knew at risk…that was worth the effort.

We'd lost enough friends over the years. Even distant ones were worth protecting with everything we had.

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	9. Chapter 9: Five

I woke up with a start. I wasn't sure what had startled me awake, but I instantly knew that it was not good.

Heart racing I sat up in bed and looked around. I heard it then, a keening wail that sent shivers of fear through me.

It was followed by the banging of doors and the commotion of dozens of students emerging from their rooms to investigate.

I glanced at the clock. 6am.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on, but it wasn't like I could just roll over and pretend it wasn't happening.

I ran a hand over my face and stood up, taking a moment to stretch out my bad shoulder as I made my way to the door in my pyjamas. It had never been the same since being ripped out of its socket all those years ago.

I opened the door and stepped out into the crowded hallway, moving with the crowd of pyjama clad students towards the front hall, which appeared to be the source of the wailing.

Now that I was in the hall I could tell that it was one person making most of the noise, along with several others crying more quietly.

The crowd was too thick to see who was crying, or who it was they were crying over. People were pushing and shoving, trying to get to the front. Wanting to know if this time it was one of their friends…or another of their friends.

There was the occasional shout of friends finding each other, relieved to know they were ok. I wondered where in the crowd Emily was.

Finally a wave of whispers starting making their way back through the crowd from the people at the front.

I heard someone murmur "Emily" and my hands flew to my mouth as they blood drained from my face.

No. It couldn't be her. Please let it be someone else.

I took a couple of deep breaths to calm the ringing in my ears so that I could focus on the continuing whispers.

"Emily Tunns, she's a fourth year…"

I felt a wave of relief that just about knocked me down, followed by a wave of guilt, knowing that someone else had just lost their friend.

I turned and moved against the still growing crowd, slowly making my way back to our corridor. There was nothing to be achieved by standing around waiting for someone to take control of the shoving crowd of students.

As I moved back into the corridors I heard a shout.

"Taylor!" I turned, looking for the source of the voice. The crowd was thinner here, most of the students having made their way to the front hall.

I spotted her waving at me and rushed over, "Emily!" I gave her a tight hug, still recovering from the moment of terror that the body found had been hers.

She squeezed me back. "You have no idea how relieved I was to see you." She commented as we pulled away.

I let out a slightly hysterical giggle, "Trust me…I know." She gave me a concerned look, and I couldn't blame her.

"So…do you know who it is?" She asked quietly, as we walked slowly back to our rooms.

I nodded, "Yeah, I heard it was Emma Tunns."

She shook her head a little, "I don't know her."

"Me neither." I told her, "Apparently she's a fourth year student."

She frowned, "Medical student?"

I shrugged, "No idea."

"That doesn't fit the pattern…" She commented, almost to herself, then louder "Do we know if she was…"

"Like the others?" I finished and she nodded. I shrugged again, "I don't know, there were too many students to see anything…and I think I'd rather find out later than see anyway."

She grimaced. "Yeah…"

There was a fresh commotion behind us and we turned to look.

Students were flowing back into the corridors from the front hall. It would appear that teachers and security had arrived and were herding everyone back to their rooms.

We moved to the side as a crying girl rushed through the crowds and disappeared down a corridor with her friends close behind.

"I guess we'll find out soon." I commented as we started walking again. Emily nodded.

We stopped at our rooms and Emily looked at her watch. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "6:20" She supplied.

I grimaced. Breakfast didn't even start here till 8am, and our first lecture for the day wasn't till 10. I usually didn't even get out of bed till 8:30.

Emily chuckled a little at the look on my face. She was more of an early bird, usually going for a run around campus before meeting me for breakfast…not that she'd been doing that these past couple of days. I couldn't blame her.

"Want to join me for a walk?" She offered, knowing that there was no way I'd take her up on a run…she'd tried.

I sighed, "Sure, give me…fifteen minutes?"

She nodded, "Sure, I've got to get ready too."

She was in her pyjamas too.

We split off into our own rooms to get ready, and I made sure to lock my door behind me.

I sat on the side of the bed, trying to decide if I'd be waking them up if I called Sam and Dean right now. Finally I decided that it wouldn't make any difference to call them when we got back. They couldn't get here any quicker anyway, and it wasn't like I actually had anything to tell them apart from the fact that another body had been found.

They could probably figure that out for themselves just from the pattern so far.

So instead I went and found a pair of jeans and a T shirt to get dressed. The fresh air would probably do us good anyway. And it would get us away from the chaos that I could still hear in the corridor.

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	10. Chapter 10: Pit Stop

We had only stopped for fuel, food and toilet breaks since we left Minessotta. It was an exhausting way to travel, but we were making good time. Ignoring the posted speed limits for much of the way helped too…

The result of that was that less than 24 hours after we talked to the girls we were already nearly in Nevada, and hoping to get to Stanford tonight.

Right now I was taking my turn driving while Dean slept.

The quiet early morning should have been peaceful, but it was hard to relax. I couldn't get the fear in Taylor and Emily's voices out of my head, and I knew that the longer it took us to reach them the more danger they were in.

On top of that was the niggling feeling that something more was going on than a simple werewolf hunt.

Werewolf was the most obvious conclusion when you had bodies that appeared to have been attacked by animals, with hearts missing.

It was the little things that were bothering me. The victims being tied up, and then strangled. It wasn't typical of werewolf kills.

That didn't mean it wasn't a werewolf, of course. Like I said to Dean, a werewolf with a penchant for strangling would hardly be the strangest thing we'd encountered.

Maybe I was just being paranoid. We'd got it wrong so many times over the years, it became hard to trust your first instincts.

Hopefully when we got there we could find some evidence to prove what it was, one way or the other.

I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face. Right now I was hoping to find a diner where I could get breakfast and a decent cup of coffee.

A little further along I spotted a sign for a 24 hour diner a couple of miles of the main road, and made the decision to pull off. It was closer than the next town, and just a couple of minutes out of our way.

The change in speed as I turned off was enough to cause Dean to stir. He yawned and sat up, blinking at me blearily in the mirror as he slowly came awake.

"What time is it?" He grunted, stretching a little in the confines of the backseat. "And where are we?"

"Morning." I chuckled at him. He could wake up in an instant if the situation called for it, but if there was no immediate threat you were better off not trying to talk to him till he'd had his coffee.

"It's about 9am, and we're almost out of Idaho." I told him, giving him a moment to do the maths on how far we'd travelled while he slept.

After a few moments he nodded a little, "That's good."

"I figured it was time for some breakfast and caffeine." I said as I pulled into the parking lot of the diner.

Dean nodded his agreement and got out of the car to stretch out some more while I leant over to open the glove box and pull out a credit card for the morning.

I turned it over to check the name, and smirked. It was one of Deans…"Brad Putt" I shook my head slightly, "Dork."

I took half a moment to tidy my hair in the rear view mirror, "Hurry up Samantha, I'm hungry."

Then I got out of the car and passed the card to Dean, "Whatever, Brad."

He took a look at the card and grinned.

The lot of the diner contained a number of trucks and a couple of cars which appeared to belong to families on road trips. So it was an odd mix of people that glanced up at us as we headed inside, and yet we still managed to stand out.

On one side of the diner were a bunch of rough looking truckies, on the other tired parents and children running amok. Two guys walking in together in clothes we'd clearly slept in. Most of them were giving us unfriendly looks.

A server approached us with menus, hesitated a moment, and then sat us at a table near the door, in the middle of the two groups.

Dean gave me an accusing look and I shrugged. It was hardly the most uncomfortable place we'd eaten.

"Can I get you boys some coffee?" The server asked, looking at us a little apologetically.

I nodded, "Sugar and cream in mine, none in his."

The woman nodded and walked away.

The two of us sat in silence. I'd have loved to talk to Dean about my concerns about the case, but we were the subject of too much scrutiny to have any privacy.

Instead I turned my attention to the menu. It was typical all day diner fare, a heart attack waiting to happen. Dean's favourite.

I sighed, and settled on a stack of pancakes and syrup, hold the cream.

The woman returned with her coffee and I gave her my order. Dean opted for their 'big breakfast', eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns and toast.

I rolled my eyes at him, and he shrugged with a grin, "If I get to go out from a food induced heart attack, I'll be a happy man."

I considered that for a moment, then shrugged, I supposed it was better than most of the options we were likely to get.

I glanced around the room again, "You'd think they thought we were serial killers the way they're looking at us."

Dean laughed, "If only they knew…"

I thought about that for a moment, then laughed too. He had a point.

The nearest mother gave us a look that would kill a plant.

Dean's phone chose that moment to start ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and stood up, "Taylor, I'll be back."

"Coward." I called after him as he walked outside. He just turned and winked.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check I hadn't missed any messages. It was a good bet that another body had been found by now, and I would feel a little better knowing that both our girls were safe.

While I waited I drank my coffee, looking forward to the caffeine kicking in after so many hours in the driver's seat. At least they made a decent coffee here.

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	11. Chapter 11: Tensions

I was glad that Taylor had agreed to join me for a walk, with the two of us leaving the campus to walk into town for breakfast.

The tension around campus was becoming stifling. Some idiot had decided to point out that all of the victims so far were white and Christian, generating a wave of distrust towards anyone who looked or acted differently.

The two of us were fairly safe, we weren't Christian, but we were white and dressed about the same as everyone else. I was worried about some of our friends though…

Hopefully the increase in security would help. We'd been surprised when we got to the front gates to find a security guard checking the ID of everybody coming and going from campus.

It was also hard to miss the increase in parents collecting their sons and daughters, some of which clearly didn't plan on returning anytime soon. Their cars were loaded up with the contents of entire rooms.

It was a relief to get further into town. There was still an edge of tension, murders in the area would do that, but it was easier to be more relaxed when you weren't a possible target.

It would have been nice to have stayed out all day, but eventually we had to head back to campus. We did still have classes to attend, though I wondered if they would start to cancel them if more students kept dying.

Back at the dorms we spent a couple of minutes tiding up and grabbing our books, then headed towards the lecture hall where we had medicine this morning.

I was just thinking that I should send Sam and Dean an update when we heard shouting coming from up ahead. Taylor and I looked at each other worriedly.

"Maybe it's just a couple of idiot boys fighting over a girl again?" Taylor suggested weakly.

It was not an unusual occurrence, but I doubted it.

Then we heard a familiar voice amongst the shouting, "No! Stop!"

"Sari!" Taylor and I both exclaimed, and broke into a run.

We rounded the corner to see a growing crowd forming around the source of the commotion. We looked around, but of course there were no security guards, or teachers, in sight. "Damn it." I muttered.

We hesitated at the edge of the crowd, "Should we get a security guard?" Taylor asked.

Then we heard Sari cry out again, followed by a cheer from some of those at the front of the crowd, and I made up my mind. I looked around quickly and spotted a young woman nearby who was looking worried. I grabbed her arm, "Go and get security!" I instructed her. She hesitated and gave her a little push away from the crowd. Finally she took off running.

Then I grabbed Taylor's arm and we pushed our way through the crowd of students, elbows and feet clearing us a path.

I just about saw red when we finally pushed through into the clear space in the centre of the crowd. Two male students were pushing Sari back and forth between them, pulling at her clothes and headscarf every time she got within reach.

"I've got blue shirt." I said shortly to Taylor, moving quickly to between Sari and the bigger of the two guys.

I trusted that Taylor would protect her from the other one.

I felt Sari knock into my back as I stepped between her and the guy, and put a hand behind me to steady her, "It's ok, I've got you." I heard her sobbing behind me, but didn't turn my back on the guy, who's face had gone from sick amusement to rage when we had stepped in to stop his 'fun.'

"Get out of the way." He growled at me, "This is none of your business."

"That's where you're wrong." I told him calmly, "You attacking my friend is definitely my business." I was seriously hoping that I could keep him talking till security arrived. I did not want to get into an actual fight with this guy, he was much bigger than me.

Behind me I could hear Taylor taunting guy number two about how much of a coward you had to be to attack a young woman two on one, and at least part of the crowd agreeing with her.

"If you're friends with them, you're as bad as them." The meathead in front of me finally responded, and took a swing at my head.

I swore as I ducked, pulling Sari down to the ground and out of harm's way before standing back up, arms going up into a defensive position.

I was just quick enough to block another swing, feeling his arm collide painfully with mine, but at least managing to protect my head.

His face was just about purple at this point, clearly not having expected me to be able to put up any sort of defence against him.

There was a commotion behind us, and people in the surrounding crowd began to back off. I took that to mean that campus security had arrived and I relaxed a little.

He didn't, taking advantage of my moment of distraction to take a swing. I registered the threat just in time to put my arm between his fist and my head, but it still struck with enough force to send me crashing to the pavement.

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	12. Chapter 12: Friends

I was glad that Emily had taken charge, I had been seriously worried about Sari, but I don't know if I'd have had to guts to step in there on my own. I had wanted to run and get the nearest security guard or teacher, but she'd quickly grabbed another student to do that.

Then she was pulling my through the crowd, and after a moment I helped shove people out of the way to get us to the front.

When we reached the centre of the commotion she took a moment to assess the situation before telling me that she was taking the guy in the blue shirt.

A quick look at the two guys, and I was happy with her choice. The second guy was definitely the smaller of the two.

I stepped into the fray right after her, moving to the other side of Sari just too late to prevent the guy from shoving her backwards again. At least she was now sheltered on both sides by Emily and I.

The guy in front of me looked at me in confusion, clearly not the brightest bulb on the block. I could hear the crowd still shouting and jeering, but I blocked them out. I was waiting, tense, to find out if this guy would back down when challenged, or start swinging.

"What the hell do you want?" He snapped at me.

"I want you to stop being an asshole to my friend." I snapped back.

"What did you call me?" He growled, but made no effort to move towards me. I got the feeling that he was only a tough guy when his mate was backing him, and I told him so.

"I called you an asshole." I repeated slowly, "What else would you be to attack a young woman?" I pretended to think about it, before cutting him off when he started to respond. "I suppose I could call you a coward, seeing as you couldn't even have the balls to go one on one with her…had to have your big mate back you up, did you?"

A cheer went up from a number of people in the crowd, with several people starting to jeer at the guy.

He started to look panicked, realising that the crowd was quickly turning against them.

"Go on! Run away, coward!" I taunted him, and he didn't wait to be told twice.

The crowd parted…delivering him straight into one of the security guards who had finally arrived.

I grinned, that went better than I could have hoped. I turned to check on Sari and Emily…Just in time to see the other guy send her crashing to the ground with a punch to the head.

"Emily!" I rushed over to her as the security guards ran over to restrain the guy.

Emily groaned and rolled onto her back, "Ouch…"

I let out a breath of relief, at least he hadn't knocked her out entirely, though there was already a nasty set of bruises forming on her arm and the side of her face.

I helped her sit up gently, with Sari supporting her on the other side.

"You ok, Sari?" I asked, and she nodded a little shakily.

"Emily?" I asked.

She nodded, then winced, "I'm ok…Hurts like hell, but I'm ok."

One of the security guards knelt down in front of us. "Do you need an ambulance?"

I looked at the other two. Both shook their heads.

The security guard frowned, then held out a hand towards Emily's arm, "May I?"

She hesitated a moment, then nodded. He gentle took her arm, turning it to inspect the growing contusion, then the matching injury to her face. "I really think you should get that looked at. I can give you a ride if you want? You can give your statements on the way, I'm guessing you will want to press assault charges?"

I looked at him in surprise, the thought having not actually occurred to me.

"Can you give us a moment?" Emily asked him. The man nodded and stood up, moving over to some of the people who were still standing around.

Sari was looking worried. "I…I don't want to cause any trouble…" She told us.

Emily and I both gave her comforting smiles. "You aren't." I told her, gently but firmly, "Those guys had no right to treat you like that."

"But," Emily added, voice gentle, "If you don't press charges, they'll get away with it…and probably do it again to someone else."

Sari continued to look worried, turning away from us to look around at the crowd of concerned onlookers. Most of those who had been cheering on the two guys had disappeared with the arrival of security. Those who remained were mostly young, worried looking women. Some of them wore headscarfs like Sari, or some other clothing or jewellery which marked them as different. No doubt all of them worried they'd be next, waiting to see the outcome of the attack.

Sari squared her shoulders and straightened her scarf, "Ok. I'll do it."

I smiled at her, "Don't worry, we'll be by your side the whole time."

Emily nodded her confirmation and called the security guard back over to tell him that we would go with him.

Several hours later, having all missed the days classes, we were finally dropped back at the campus grounds.

Emily and I walked Sari to her dorm, leaving her with some other friends for the night, before finally heading back to our own dorm.

"We'll have missed all the good stuff." I complained to Emily, and she nodded. There was always plenty of food, but the exciting stuff usually went early, and we were now late.

"At least there's always ice cream." She pointed out, and I perked up. Let's face it, there was no such thing as bad ice cream.

The good thing about getting to the dining hall late was that it was nearly empty, and we were free to eat our dinner without too many curious people interrupting. Having spent all day talking to nurses, doctors and police we were both quite happy to eat in silence.

"I don't know about you," I commented, "But I don't think I feel like studying tonight."

She gave a snort of laughter, "Agreed."

We plodded up the corridor. I for one was ready to collapse into bed and stay there.

"Hey there ladies." I did a double take, I would recognise that cocky voice anywhere.

"Dean!" I cried, rushing towards him.

At the Sam time I heard Emily calling, "Sam!"

We both stopped midstride, turning to stare at each other while Sam and Dean burst into laughter.

"Emily," Sam said with mock seriousness, "Meet our friend Taylor."

Dean snorted, before adding, "And Taylor, meet our friend Emily."

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	13. Chapter 13: Catching Up

It was hilarious watching both girls faces light up when they saw us, only to falter mid step to stare at each other in confusion.

"Emily," I said with mock seriousness, "Meet our friend Taylor."

Dean snorted, before adding, "And Taylor, meet our friend Emily."

The two girls stared at us for a moment, then started firing questions at a mile a minute.

"Whoa!" Dean held up a hand, still looking amused. "Slow it down there. How about we take this discussion out of the corridor?"

The two girls stopped, looked at each other then nodded. I let out another laugh, you could tell already that the two were close.

"This is my room." Emily told us, pointing to the door just behind us and pulling out her key.

"We know." I told her with a grin.

She opened the door, then turned to look at me with a slightly confused frown, "How? I didn't give you my room number."

"FBI, remember?" Dean grinned, and moved into the room to look around.

Both girls rolled their eyes at us. I smirked.

Taylor followed Dean into the room, and Emily was behind her. As she passed me I saw something that I hadn't noticed while she was facing Taylor, and grabbed her wrist gently to stop her.

"Who did this?" I asked her, working to keep my voice even. There were purple and red bruises on her arm and her face. She'd clearly been hit, and more than once.

She grimaced, "Just…some stupid guy." She nodded her head questioningly towards the room, and after a moment I let her wrist go, following her into the room and closing the door behind me.

"Some guy did this to you." I repeated, struggling to keep the anger out of my voice at the thought of someone hurting someone we cared about. "Boyfriend?" I asked.

She shook her head, "No."

"A couple of meatheads attacked our friend this morning." Taylor told us, "We intervened."

That got a bit of a smile out of me, I wasn't surprised that they would be the ones to step up to defend their friend.

Dean took a moment to look Taylor up and down, which caused her to blush a little. "I'm fine." She assured him, "Only one of them decided to start swinging."

"Good to know." He looked her over once more, then smirked a little, causing her to blush even more.

Emily and I looked at each other, both rolled our eyes and then burst out laughing.

Dean glanced at us with a shrug, "What?"

"So, does bastard need to be taught a lesson?" I asked. He may not be a supernatural creature, but that didn't mean I couldn't give him a lesson he wouldn't forget…

Emily chuckled a little, "Easy tiger. The police have got it covered," She smirked, "The real police. He's being charged with assault. We've just spent all day at the hospital to get officially checked out, then at the police station giving statements."

I nodded, "Ok, just let us know if the 'real police'," I made air quotes with my fingers, "Fail to get justice."

She nodded solemnly, "Will do."

Then she broke into a grin and gave me a hug, "I am so glad you guys are here."

I smiled and hugged her back, "We came as fast as we could."

"No kidding," Taylor piped up, "How many road laws did you guys break?! You were in Minnesota, like, two days ago!"

Dean snorted, "Us, break road laws? Would we do that Sammy?"

I laughed, "Me, nah. You? Well…"

He shrugged, "Ah well, the rules were made to be broken."

Dean and Taylor were now sitting on the edge of the bed, just far enough apart for it to not be awkward. Emily pulled out her desk chair and offered it to me, but I shook my head and sat on the edge of the desk instead, so she took the chair.

I looked between the two of them, "Who would have thought it." I commented, "Not only did the two of you end up in the same place, at the same time, but you end up friends." I shook my head slightly, "It's a small world."

Dean chuckled, "And neither of you had the slightest idea?"

Both girls shook their heads. "So, how did you get drawn into the world of the Winchesters?" Taylor asked Emily.

Emily chuckled, "Well…you know how I told you that scar on my side was from a mugging…?" Taylor nodded. "Demon…" Emily finished.

Taylor's eyes widened, "Really? Wow…"

"You?" Emily asked.

"That's…a long story." Taylor commented, "I promise I'll tell you the whole thing later, but for now suffice to say that my scars also came from a run in with these two."

Emily looked at her curiously, "I'll hold you to that."

There was a moment of silence, and then the atmosphere in the room turned serious. "They found another body this morning." Emily said.

"We know." Dean told her. "Taylor called."

Emily gave Taylor a confused look, "When? You've been with me all day."

"When we were getting changed for class." Taylor told her, looking a little sheepish.

"Oh…" Emily frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Not that I had much to tell them." Taylor added, "How'd you go with the police?"

"They didn't give us a lot over the phone, but we should be able to get a whole lot more when we go in there in person tomorrow." I told them. "But, they did confirm that the girl they found this morning was killed in the same manner as the others…"

Both girls shuddered a little.

"Do you know what it is?" Emily asked.

"We have an idea." Dean told her, "But we'll know more after we get a look at the bodies."

Taylor looked a little queasy at the thought, and changed the subject a little. "What about tonight? It's going to attack again."

Dean and I exchanged worried looks. "We know." I said quietly, "And we are going to do what we can, but…realistically we have almost nothing to go on so far. It'd be pure luck if we manage to catch it tonight…"

"So…you're saying more people are still going to die?" Emily said quietly, sadly.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, most likely. I'm sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

"Well then," Emily said, "We'd better get started."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Taylor said, "You don't think we're just going to sit and watch? These are our classmates."

I looked at Dean, who shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.

"Ok then." I shrugged, "Let's get started."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I almost didn't write a chapter today, and then suddenly right before bed this chapter struck! So, there you go!**

 **Thankyou to Sallyannerenee, sensualxstacy and Lady Nivian for reviewing! As always, I love hearing from you!**


	14. Chapter 14: Night Shift

We stayed and talked to the girls for a couple of hours, going over what we knew from the police and what they had picked up around campus.

Finally though, Sam convinced them that they both needed to get some sleep. He offered to stay around to help them feel safer, but they assured us they'd be fine. They wanted us to be making an effort to find the thing that was attacking students, not hanging around guarding just them.

As we walked down the corridor of the dorm Sam and I exchanged a smile. "Our girls are growing up." I said, pretending to wipe a tear from my eye.

Sam laughed quietly and rolled his eyes at me.

I couldn't help but feel a little proud of them. Both of them had matured a lot since their first, terrifying, encounter with the supernatural world. Both of them had chosen to return to school so that they could become doctors and help people, and on top of that they had both taken the initiative to learn more about the supernatural so that they no longer felt as overwhelmed by it all.

It was so different to the young women who had wanted to live in denial of their experiences.

I also couldn't help but notice that Taylor still got adorably red faced if I got too close. She was also no longer a 19 year old girl, but a 25 year old young woman. I had to admit, it would be harder to refuse if she made the same offer as last time…

For the moment though, we had a decision to make. Obviously, we would prefer to prevent another death from occurring. But the reality was that neither of us was in top form right now. We'd booked into a hotel on the way into town, and taken the time to shower and freshen up, but neither of us had slept for more than a couple of hours at a time for the past three days.

After some discussion we decided to take the night in shifts. Sam had taken the last turn at driving, so he headed back to the hotel to sleep for a few hours. I was going to stay on campus.

Most of the deaths had occurred in the early morning, with evidence that they had been held for some time beforehand. So it made sense to assume that they were being taken during the night, after their friends had seen them going to bed.

With that in mind, I was going to talk to the security guards who were on duty tonight, while also keeping my eyes and ears open for anything unusual.

Sam would then relieve me in the early morning, so that I could take a turn getting some sleep at the hotel. He would talk to the early morning security shift and watch out for unusual activity around the time the bodies had been dumped.

Sam looked at his watch as we approached the front doors, and a wary looking security guard. "It's about 10 now, so I'll come back at about 2am. Call me if anything happens before then."

I nodded, "Sounds good."

We were stopped at the door by the guard. "ID please."

I gave him a nod, pulling my ID out of my pocket calmly. Sam did the same. "Evening. Dean, FBI. I was hoping I could ask you a few questions?"

The guy studied both ID's for a moment and then nodded. "Sure. And him?"

Sam smiled at him reassuringly. "I've got other places to be, I'll be back later." I passed him the keys to the impala and he walked off towards the visitor parking lot, quickly disappearing into the darkness between the buildings.

Once Sam had gone the security guard resumed his position to the side of the door, eyes roaming the darkness outside nervously.

I glanced at the name badge on his uniform. "Feeling a bit anxious Jeremy?" I asked him, moving to the side of the door with him to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness a little.

He nodded, "Yeah. Looking out for a serial killer is not exactly my usual gig, you know?"

I nodded understandingly. "Were you on last night?"

He shook his head, "No, I usually only work weekends. I do the night patrols. But, with everything that's going on…they've called everyone in for extra shifts. They usually only have a couple of us roaming the campus at night, but someone at the front gate. We make sure no one's getting up to too much mischief at night, and keep the campus parties from causing trouble." He sighed. "Then when they found the first body they added an extra roaming guard…and then more security at the gate. Then when that girl was found inside the building this morning, they decided to have someone stationed at each dorm as well."

"All that extra security, and no one has seen anything?" I asked, voice a little sceptical.

He shook his head, then lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Not a thing. It's like there's a ghost doing the killings. One minute there's nothings, then…bam! Body bits on the lawn."

I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, "You got a better theory?"

I gave a non-comital little frown that said I wasn't going to discuss my theories with a campus security guard. He didn't seem to care, seemingly perfectly happy to stick with his ghost theory.

"So there is just one guard per area?" I asked him after a few moments.

He nodded, "Yep. We have radios if we need to communicate."

I nodded thoughtfully. "So, you know all the other security guards?"

"Yeah, most of 'em." He frowned, "You don't think one of them would do this, do you? 'Cause they're all good guys."

I shrugged, "I'm not ruling anything out just yet."

He went quiet, seeming to lose his enthusiasm for talking to me after that. I figured it was time to move on.

"I'm going to go look around the rest of the campus, talk to some of the other guards." I held out a hand and after a moment he shook it. "Thanks for your help Jeremy."

As I walked away he called out to me, "Hey, I think Tony was on duty last night. He'll be out near the ovals somewhere."

I turned and smiled at him, "Thanks, good to know."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Sorry for the wait! I got distracted by holiday planning!**

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 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	15. Chapter 15: Darkness

Walking through the quiet darkness of the campus I had the nagging feeling that something wasn't right, but I had trouble pin pointing what it was.

My college experience consisted of a couple of visits to see Sammy when he was here at Stanford, and a couple of cases on other campuses over the years.

If I'd spent more time on college campuses I would have figured it out much quicker I'm sure.

Finally, walking under a broken lamp post between buildings, it struck me. The problem WAS the quiet darkness. There should be lights between buildings, but none of them were working. The only light came from inside the buildings, glowing from windows of dorm rooms, corridors and common areas. I would definitely be asking the next guard I saw why the lights were out.

It was also unnaturally quiet. I was surrounded by college students, but not one of them was outside.

There was no music or students coming and going from parties. There was no one sneaking a smoke behind the buildings. No one sneaking into another dorm for a little Netflix and chill.

It was as though the whole student population had chosen to lock themselves in their rooms. Hoping they would be safe there.

I hoped so too, but somehow I doubted it. When monsters were involved, locked doors never seemed to do much good.

I walked around to the front of another dorm, where there was another security guard standing in the dim light that was spilling out through the glass doors.

He looked at me warily when I approached, hand hovering near the back if his belt, where a gun was no doubt tucked.

I pulled out my badge and held it up for him to see. "FBI." I informed him. After squinting at the badge in the dim light his hand returned to his side and he gave an unimpressed grunt.

"Let me guess." He grumbled, "You want to interrogate me about those kids too. I already spent all day with the cops yesterday." He scowled into the darkness. "Lost me a day's work." I started to speak, but he cut me off. "And, like I told them, yeah, I was here a couple of nights this week. But I didn't see nothin', I didn't hear nothin' and I didn't do nothin'. None of us did…I reckon the guy knew where we'd be, how to avoid the guard patrols. Don't ask me how. Wasn't me that said anything to anyone."

I waited till the guard had finished his rant before trying to speak again. "Ok then, I won't trouble you about that anymore." It was pretty clear it wouldn't get me anywhere anyway. "I was wondering, however, if you could tell me why all the exterior building lights are out?"

The guard squinted into the darkness again. "Yeah, they've been out all week. We've complained to maintenance. They told us there's some sort of issue with the wiring, apparently they're working on it." He shrugged. "You know how it is. Who knows when it'll get fixed."

"Right." I frowned, it was just a little too much of a coincidence for me.

"So, you got any more questions, or can I get back to work?" He asked me.

I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. "No, thanks for your time."

I moved back into the darkness between the buildings, weaving my way towards the sports ovals at the back of the campus. I hoped that Tony would be feeling more helpful than that guy, who I realised belatedly never gave me his name. His ranting had thrown me off a little. I made a mental note to go back and ask for his name after I'd spoken to Tony.

I couldn't see anyone as I approached the ovals, but I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I paused at the edge of the buildings, scanning the area for the source of the feeling.

It was useless, the ovals were pitch black, too far from the dorms to receive any light.

I frowned, surely if there was someone patrolling around here they would have a torch on or something? I hadn't expected to need one myself, but I had my phone in my pocket. I pulled it out and put it to flashlight mode, the small LED creating small beam of light.

I held it out, sweeping it across the ovals slowly. There was a flash of movement in the trees surrounding the ovals, but it was gone before I could determine if it was animal, human or monster.

I sighed, and began walking around the edge of the ovals to investigate.

The feeling of being watched grew stronger. I pulled out my gun and held it at my side as I continued to sweep the area with the thin beam of light from my phone.

I was concentrating so hard on the tree line that when my phone suddenly started to ring I dropped it in surprise.

I swore and leant down to pick it up, checking the caller ID before answering.

"Hey Sammy, what's wrong?"

* * *

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 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	16. Chapter 16: Something Out There

I started to worry when Dean didn't immediately pick up. I was also surprised by the slightly breathless response when he finally answered. "Hey Sammy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." I frowned slightly, "At least not on my end, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, everything's quiet here. Why aren't you sleeping?" Dean sounded confused, though not as breathless, and I suspected that he'd been startled when his phone rang.

"Um, because it's 2am? Time for you to have a break." I chuckled, "Sounds like you need it."

"Seriously?" There was a shuffling sound on the other end of the line, which I assumed was Dean checking the time. "So it is…that's weird."

I frowned again, it wasn't like Dean to lose track of the time like that. "Yeah…it is. Where are you at, anyway?"

There was more shuffling on the other end of the line. "You sure you're ok Dean?" I asked, really starting to worry about him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm out on the back ovals, trying to find a security guard who was apparently on duty last night." He told me.

"Ok, I'll meet you there. See you in a minute."

"Uh huh, ok." Dean sounded distracted and hung up on me.

I decided to drive round to the ovals, rather than leaving the car in the visitor parking where I had been waiting…expecting Dean to meet me there.

I had noticed when I'd left earlier that the campus was unusually dark and quiet, and it was the same now. Theoretically it would make it easier to spot someone who was where they shouldn't be, but it also meant that there were a lot more dark places where someone could be overlooked.

I hoped Dean had managed to pick up at least some useful information, or this could potentially be a very challenging hunt.

I pulled into a car park near the ovals, looking around for Dean, and feeling a fresh wave of worry when I couldn't see him.

I got out of the car and walked to the edge of the nearest oval, scanning the darkness till I saw the light of a small torch across the other side near the tree line. I couldn't tell from here if it was Dean, one of the security guards…or someone else.

Suddenly the torch beam disappeared.

I was about to call Dean again when my phone started to ring.

"Hey Dean, that you all the way over there?" I asked, going round to the truck to find a decent torch.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm coming your way now. Didn't want you mistaking me for a monster." He said it in a joking tone, but there was something else there that made me think he was checking that it was me on this side of the oval, and not a monster.

"Ok, I'll wait here then." I told him, and hung up.

The torch lit up again, and I realised he was using his phone as a torch.

I sat on the hood of the car while I waited, starting to scan the darkness with the torch when the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand up.

Dean's distraction started to make a little more sense. There was definitely something out there. I could feel it watching us.

I could imagine that even Dean would be feeling a little jumpy out in the pitch black on his own with something watching him from the tree line.

When Dean finally reached the car he sat down next to me on the hood, eyes following my torch beam as it moved side to side.

"There's something out there." I commented.

He nodded, "Yeah, it's been watching me ever since I got to the edge of campus. I thought I spotted something moving over there," he indicated to where he'd been when I got here, "but I can't find anything."

"The security guard?" I asked.

He shrugged, "No sign of him. I'll ask around some more tomorrow."

I nodded, "You get anything from any other guards?"

"Not much. They didn't exactly go out of their way to be helpful." He sighed, "I get the impression that the police have been trying to push the blame onto them for not catching whoever's dropping the bodies."

"Makes sense." I commented, "I mean, it is more than a little odd that apparently none of them saw anything at all. They weren't even the ones to find the bodies in half the cases."

"It certainly looks like an inside job." Dean agreed. "Apparently the external lights have been out all week too, some electrical problem."

"Anything else out of the ordinary?" I asked, hoping he had more than that to show for a couple of hours investigating. Inside job didn't get us far on a campus this size…that was still potentially hundreds of people who could be monsters hiding in plain sight.

He shrugged again, "Just the missing guard…"

I sighed, "Right. Well, I'll keep trying. You'd better go and get some sleep before we have to go and talk to the cops and visit the morgue."

"Yeah, ok." He held a hand out and I passed him the keys. "Give me a call if anything happens."

"Will do." We both stood up. Dean headed round to the driver's door, and I walked off to have one more look around the ovals before heading back into the campus itself to see if I could get anything more out of the security guards.

I heard the engine rumble to life and turned to watch Dean head back up the road towards the main gate. He just hadn't seemed quite right, but hopefully a couple of hours sleep would fix it. Neither of us needed a lot of sleep to function…but we did still need sleep, and he had had hardly any these past couple of days.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Now we're getting to the fun part! I have finally ironed out a few wrinkles in how to get from where I was to where I want this story to go! I can't wait to see what you think ;)**

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	17. Chapter 17: Caution

I did a quick circuit of the ovals, but found no sign of the missing security guard, or anything else. I saw glimpses of the movement in the trees that Dean had mentioned, but I was never close enough to figure out if it was something to worry about, or just an animal.

The feeling of being watched never left, though, and by the time I had finished one circuit of the ovals I was feeling distinctly creeped out.

I decided to head back into the main campus and see if I couldn't find out some more information on the missing guard. Honestly, I was hoping that he was our werewolf…or whatever. Knowing who you were hunting made life a whole lot easier.

It was very strange to be walking around my old campus after so many years. I couldn't help but think about how different my life had turned out from the one I had imagined as a young and hopeful kid.

Despite dad's anger, and Dean's sadness, at my decision to go to college, I had still believed I could make it work. If only they could have understood that I still wanted to help people, I just didn't want to have to worry about getting killed in the process.

Even after Dean came barging back into my life, after what happened to Jess… I had still held on to the hope that I would come back here and finish my degree.

I couldn't tell you when exactly I gave up on the dream, but it was gone. I knew I would never escape the life of hunting that I had grown up in. Even death apparently couldn't give me any relief.

Don't get me wrong, I had come to terms with it. I wasn't bitter at Dean for dragging me back into the life, not anymore.

I sighed and shook myself out of the morose thoughts that being here brought up. I could take some time to deal with them later, right now I needed to focus on doing what we did best. Hunting things and saving people. The family business.

I didn't know which guards Dean had spoken to already, but I figured it was safe to assume he'd spoken to those closest to the girls' dorm. So I headed towards the other side of the campus, towards the lecture halls near where one of the earlier victims had been found.

I found a guard walking around the outside of the group of buildings, accidentally startling him when I came up behind him.

He had his gun up and aimed at me in an instant, and I was quick to raise my hands. "Whoa! Easy there, don't shoot. I'm FBI, I just want to talk to you." I told him calmly, not moving for my ID yet. The guy looked like he'd pull the trigger with no hesitation.

"FBI?" He questioned, sounding sceptical. "Why the hell would the FBI be stalking around campus at four in the morning?"

I blinked, caught off guard a little. It couldn't be four, I'd got here at two, and I'd only walked around the ovals before coming here. Then I realised my hesitation was just confirming that I shouldn't be here, in his eyes at least. "Five kids are dead," I explained, "And it would appear they've all been killed at night, so it made sense for us to be here at night if we wanted to try and catch the person responsible."

He seemed to consider that for a moment. "Where's your ID?" He asked.

I started to lower one hand to pull it out of my pocket, but he tightened his grip on the gun. "Hey! Don't move! Tell me where it is and I will get it, thank you very much."

I wondered if this guy realised he was just a campus security guard, not the national guard, but nodded. "Ok, ok, take it easy. It's in the left inside pocket of my jacket."

The guy approached slowly, watching me closely as he reached a hand into my jacket and pulled out my FBI ID.

He studied it for several moments, then finally lowered the gun and put it back into its holster on his hip.

I put my hands down and he handed back the ID with a sigh. "Sorry, but like you said, five kids have died this week. I'm not taking any chances."

"Fair enough." I agreed. "Have you been on duty this week?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I usually work the day shift though." He sighed again. "I was here when they found the first girl…just awful. Poor girl didn't deserve that."

"Did you know her?" I asked

"Not exactly, but when you work the day shift all week you get to know most of the kids at least by sight." He explained. "She was one of those people who always smiled and said hi when she passed by."

Maybe this guy would actually be able to give me some useful information. "What about the others? Did you know any of them?"

He shrugged, "Not so much. I know they were all Medical students, and not really the parting type. I don't know how the guy is getting to them, no wonder the whole place is living in fear." I indicated vaguely to the silence around us.

That didn't help me much. "What about the security guard who's supposed to be out on the ovals? We were told that he was on duty last night, but we couldn't find him to talk to him."

He frowned, "You mean Tony? He should be out there. He signed on same time as me, and he's not one to slack off. You sure you checked the whole area? Maybe check the surrounding car parks, sometimes he checks parking permits if everything's quiet." He chuckled, "Like I said, definitely not a slacker that one."

"I'll give that a try, thanks." I pulled my notepad out of my pocket and jotted my number down. "If you think of anything else, give me a call."

He nodded, "Sure. Hope you find the guy soon."

So did I.

I headed back to the ovals, the missing security guard was really bugging me after talking to him.

The ovals were just as dark and creepy as before, but this time I headed over towards the car park where I'd swapped over with Dean. There were only a couple of cars there at this hour of the night, and no obvious sign of anyone other than myself wandering about.

I flicked on the torch and scanned it across the car park, stopping when I noticed something that looked suspiciously like a leg sticking out from behind one of the cars.

"Oh no…" I muttered, heading over to investigate, the hand not holding the torch going to the gun in my belt. The killer could still be around.

A sickening sight greeted me as I moved to the other side of the car. I could see why someone might think animal attack at first glance. It was messy, and bloody. It was another young woman.

Good thing I had a very strong stomach after hunting all my life. I sighed and crouched down for a better look, hoping to confirm our werewolf theory.

I didn't get a chance… Pain exploded across the back of my head…and the world went black.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I know, I'm being evil again! Cliff hanger! I was also having a look at a map of Stanford uni the other day, and holy crap that place is huge! I can't quite wrap my head around it, it's so different from the uni's here...so I am taking a bit of artistic licence with the layout! Apologies to anyone who has actually been there ;)**

 **Thank you to Sallyannerenee for reviewing!**


	18. Chapter 18: A New Day

_Beep beep beep beep beep_

"Ugh.." I rolled over and smacked the hotel alarm clock before blearily checking the time.

5:30am. I considered rolling over and going back to sleep, 3 hours in a real bed was just not enough to fix three days in a car…after a week in the damned forrest.

I sighed, nope, not an option. Sammy would be waiting for me so that we could go and talk to the local police and check out the bodies in the morgue.

I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom for a quick shower, wondering if another body had turned up yet.

I'd hardly turned the shower on when I heard my phone start to ring. I sighed, getting the feeling this was not going to be a good day. I took two seconds to rinse off, then turned the water off and wrapped myself in a towel to go answer the phone.

"Hey Sammy, what's up? I'm just getting ready and I'll head over." I fished around in my bag for suitable clothing for talking to the cops and getting information.

"I, uh…think I had a run in with the monster this morning…" Sam said hesitantly.

"You what?!" I stopped looking through my bag to focus on Sam. "Are you ok? What happened? Did you get it?"

"I'm fine." He assured me, "Got a bump to the back of the head, but that's all."

"What happened?" I repeated, not the least bit satisfied by an answer like that.

He sighed, "I…I don't know exactly. I knelt down to investigate the body on the ground –"

"Wait, what body?" I resumed my search for clothing and started pulling my pants on while I was still on the phone. I was becoming increasingly sure that something was wrong with Sammy, a serious concussion my best guess from what little he'd told me so far.

"Oh, right, sorry. I found the body of another girl." He explained. "The reports were right, she was torn apart. It looks like we were right about it being a werewolf."

"And they attacked you?" I prompted, trying to get the whole story out of him whilst buttoning my shirt with one hand in an effort to get to him in person faster.

"Uh yeah, I think so." He paused, to collect his thoughts I assumed. "Like I said, I knelt down to check out the body, and then something struck me across the back of my head. I blacked out, and when I came to it was gone."

"It left you there?!" I asked, incredulous. That was hardly normal behaviour for a monster. I finally finished getting dressed and grabbed my ID and car keys.

"Yeah. It was weird." Sam agreed. "Maybe I'm just not it's type…I mean, so far it's only killed medical students, right?"

"Yeah…but since when do werewolves care about that? If you threaten them, they attack." I pointed out as I pulled out of the hotel parking lot.

"Look man, I don't know." Sam sounded frustrated. "We'll work it out when you get here, ok? And bring some coffee would you?"

I sighed, "Fine, stay out of trouble till I get there." I hung up and made a quick detour for coffee and breakfast.

Sam was waiting for me when I finally pulled into the visitors' parking lot. I turned off the engine and took a moment to look him over from a distance, finally getting out when he raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. He looked fine, but I was still concerned.

"Let me see." I instructed and he rolled his eyes at me, but turned his head so I could check where he'd been hit.

He winced as I gently prodded around the lump on the back of his head, and I grimaced in sympathy. "Damn Sammy, he hit you hard." I turned his head so that I could see his eyes. "Follow my finger."

He scowled at me, then followed my finger with his eyes just fine. "Satisfied?" He asked impatiently.

I nodded, "Yeah. You can't blame me for worrying though, you admitted that it knocked you out."

He shrugged, "Not like I haven't had worse."

He was of course right, unfortunately.

I walked back to the car and pulled out two coffees, a breakfast burger and a salad wrap.

"Thanks." Sam immediately started on the coffee. I guess not surprising when he'd been up since 2am.

"So where's the body?" I asked, starting on my own breakfast.

"Probably at the morgue by now." Sam answered. I gave him a confused look and he explained, "I found the body about an hour and a half ago. The police have been and gone."

"Why the hell didn't you call me?!" I asked, annoyed. "I told you to call me if anything happened."

"I didn't want to wake you up early." He told me, looking totally unremorseful.

I scowled at him.

"You need sleep too." He told me firmly. "And it's not like you could have done anything more for being here. Once the police got here all I could do was stand back and wait."

"You did show them your FBI badge? Right?" I asked, knowing that my worry about him was coming out as frustration, but not being able to stop it.

He gave me a bitch face. "Yes Dean. I did. And they told me that they were happy for the help, but right now it was still there case and I had to let them do their jobs." He shrugged, "I didn't want to put them totally off side before we have a chance to see what evidence they've got. They're expecting us at the station in a couple of hours."

I sighed, conceding the point with a short nod. "Ok fine."

We lapsed into silence while we finished our coffees and food.

The silence was broken by Sam tossing his rubbish into a nearby trash can. "Come on, we should go check on the girls before we head out."

I nodded, drinking the last mouthful of coffee and tossing my rubbish in after his.

There was silence again as we walked off towards the dorm.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Sorry for the long wait! I wasn't planning on making you wait so long to find out what happened to Sammy, but real life got in the way!**

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 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	19. Chapter 19: Police Cooperation

The same guard was on the door when we reached the dorms. He gave us a tired nod, "Morning fellas."

"Morning Jeremy," I said, receiving a slight smile for remembering. "Long night?"

He nodded, "Almost knock off." He looked at Sam, "I heard you found the latest victim, and had a run in with the killer. Have any luck identifying the guy?"

Sam shook his head, "No, unfortunately."

He sighed, "Damn. Hopefully you have a break today, everyone's pretty messed up around here. I don't think they can cope with many more bodies."

I nodded, "Yeah, this sort of thing is always awful. We're doing everything we can to catch the guy." And we were, any case where friends were involved was going to be more personal, and more urgent.

The guard looked at us thoughtfully for a moment. "You've got friends on campus, don't you?"

I considered him for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, we do."

He nodded, "I'm sure you'll catch the guy. For the moment I can assure you that no-one has come or gone through here tonight except for you two." He smiled a little, "Your friends are safe at least."

I smiled back, "Thank you."

"Mind if we have a look through anyway?" Sam asked.

The guard moved to the side, "Be my guest. I'll let the day guard know you're around."

"Thanks." I opened the door and Sam and I headed inside.

It was very quiet inside, just one or two students sitting around chatting quietly, looking like they'd given up on trying to sleep.

As we wandered through the corridors I glanced at the time, it was a little after 6am. "You know they're both going to be asleep still, and probably won't appreciate being woken up for no good reason."

Sam looked frustrated, "Yeah, but…"

I frowned, "Relax dude, we know they're safe for this morning, they'll be fine for a couple more hours. We can go down to the police station and morgue. Come back later in the morning. What time does breakfast start here?"

Sam continued to look towards the girls' rooms, then sighed, "Fine. Breakfast's not till eight."

"Ok then." I turned back towards the front doors, "Let's go."

Sam hesitated for a couple of moments before following. He was still unusually tense.

"You sure you're okay, Sammy?" I asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged me off, "I'm fine. Just want to catch the son of a bitch already."

I assumed he was beating himself up over the thing getting the drop on him this morning.

"Don't worry. We'll get it. We always do." I reminded him.

He just gave a curt nod. I frowned, but let it go, walking in silence to the car.

We made a quick stop in at the hotel to put on suits, and then headed to the police station.

The station was buzzing with activity when we got there. We showed our ID at the front and were shown through to the back room, pausing in the doorway to take in the chaos.

I raised an eyebrow at Sam and he shrugged, then scanned the room. "There." He pointed to an officer across the room, "He was there this morning. He'll be expecting us."

I nodded and we wove our way through the crowd, getting a few curious looks, but otherwise left alone.

Sam cleared his throat to get the officer's attention. He turned, looking confused for a moment, before understanding dawned on his face. "Officer Smith, took me a moment to recognise you in the suit." He passed a sheaf of paper to a nearby officer and indicated for us to follow him into an office. "Wasn't expecting you so soon."

We followed him in and he closed the door before sitting on the edge of the desk. "And you must be his partner Officer…?"

"Smith. No relation." I shrugged. "Well, case like this…no time to waste." I explained.

He nodded, "No kidding. Our phones are ringing off the hook with parents demanding to know what we're doing to protect their kids…"

"And what are you doing?" Sam asked, impatiently. I touched his arm gently, a silent reminder to calm down.

"Sorry, he's had a rough morning." I apologised to the officer.

He chuckled, "Yeah, getting knocked out next to a mutilated body before the sun's even up is definitely going to put a crimp on your day."

I let out a huff of laughter, "That is true."

Sam stayed silent.

"Anyway," He continued, "To answer your question, we are currently going through all of the evidence from all six cases. So far we know that all six were restrained by with rope around their wrists and ankles. The cause of death was strangulation. Then, after death the bodies were mutilated and the hearts removed." He grimaced, "Nasty, huh?"

I nodded. "Do you know how the victims are being grabbed?"

He shook his head, "No, and it's driving us nuts. None of their friends heard or saw anything. It's like they just vanished from their dorm rooms after everyone went to bed."

I looked at Sam, disappearing without a trace from rooms was not exactly werewolf MO. I knew that something about the werewolf theory had been bothering him, and I was starting to think he was right. But then…he seemed sure it was a werewolf after seeing the body this morning.

I sighed, "Damn. So you haven't found anything that could identify the person? No hairs that didn't belong, or…?"

He chuckled, "In a dorm room? No offense officer, but we're a local PD. We don't have time to analyse every single hair in a college dorm room to find one that doesn't fit…and that's assuming that it's not someone that they know." He sighed, "And sadly…far too often, it's someone they know."

Not helpful, but unfortunately he had a point.

"Oh! We are pretty sure that they're all being taken to the same place before they're killed." He moved around to the other side of the desk and opened a laptop. He pulled up a file and turned the computer around to show us. "All of them had the same dirt on their clothes.

Sam and I leant down to look at the file. It was a collection of evidence photos, the clothing that the victims had been wearing, and a report from one of the forensic techs.

"Interesting." Sam commented, "Do you know where it's from yet?"

The officer shook his head, "No. We're got people taking samples from around campus, trying to identify a general area to start, but it's a big area…"

"Could we have a copy of your files?" I asked, "Fresh set of eyes might help."

"Sure, I can organise that." He turned the computer back around. "While I do that, you indicated this morning that you wanted to see the bodies in the morgue?"

I nodded, "Yes we would."

"I'll let them know you're coming down. It's right behind the station, just out that door," He indicated to a door at the back of the station, "And follow the corridor back."

"Thank you. We'll be back for the files shortly." I shook his hand, and then opened the door, waiting for Sam to walk out of the room before following him across the station.

"Just don't." He stopped me before I could ask, yet again, if he was okay. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." I told him, "But if you don't want to talk about it, then I'm not going to push you. Just know that I'm here when you're ready."

* * *

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 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	20. Chapter 20: Opening Up

I was relieved to wake up to silence instead of crying this time. I rolled over to look at my alarm clock.

"7:30…" I muttered to myself, my alarm wasn't set for another hour. Unfortunately I was awake now, and so that was the end of that.

I sighed, and leant down to pick up my phone off the charger on the floor. I flicked through my emails for a few minutes, then gave up entirely on staying in bed.

The fact that no one had come and woken me up already was a good sign, but I still couldn't relax knowing that there was a good chance someone else had died while I was sleeping.

I got up and dressed for the day, wishing that I could have at least slept for another half an hour. I was hungry.

At least I knew I could have company until breakfast started. I wasn't an early riser, but Emily was. She was usually out for a run at this hour of the morning, so she was probably pacing restlessly around her room by now.

I put my phone in my pocket and grabbed my keys before leaving the room and walking down the hall to knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Emily called through the door and I smiled sadly. I was glad she was being careful, but it wasn't something she'd ever felt the need to do before.

"It's Taylor." I called back.

Emily opened the door, looking a little surprised to see me so early in the morning. "You're up early." She commented as I came in. "Everything okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, just woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep."

She locked the door behind me. "Know what you mean. Have you heard from the guys?"

"No, not yet. I'm taking that as a good sign." I flopped down onto her bed, looking out the window.

She flopped down next to me. "I guess so."

I sighed, "Tell me…does it make me a bad person to hope that it takes a little longer to solve this case. You know, so they stay a little longer?"

Emily chuckled, "Maybe…but I know what you mean. I'd definitely be happy for them to hang around a little after they finish the case…" She nudged me with her elbow, "I reckon Dean would stay a while if you asked."

I chuckled, "I wish. One night with that boy…mmm"

She laughed, "No kidding."

"Sam's no bad catch either." I elbowed her back.

She laughed again. "Yeah, but I saw the way Dean looked at you…"

I sighed, "I know…but I'd hate to get turned down again."

She rolled over to stare at me, "What do mean _again_?" I stared out the window. "I think I want to hear the rest of that long story now."

I turned to grin at her, "Honestly I'm surprised you were able to wait till now."

She shrugged. "You know I'm not one to push."

I smiled, "I know." I rolled over onto my back. "Well, you know some of it."

She rolled over too, "Yeah, you were on your way back from visiting your parents about 6 years ago and got abducted by a couple of psychos. Guessing they were psychos of the supernatural variety?"

I chuckled, "Well…not exactly. They didn't abduct me, as such. And they were human, hunters actually."

She turned her head to study me, "Hunters? Like Sam and Dean hunters?" I nodded. " _You're_ human…right?"

I laughed, "Yes Emily, I'm human."

"So, why were hunter's after you?" She asked, confused.

"They weren't." I told her, "They were after Sam. I was just a means to an end." I sighed, letting my mind drift back to things that I hadn't talked about for years now.

Emily was silent, waiting patiently for me to collect my thoughts.

"They knew they couldn't attack Sam directly, especially not with Dean around too. So they used a spell to separate him. I was staying at the same hotel as them, and I was caught in the spell." I paused and Emily took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Reminding me that she had had her own run in with the supernatural, and that she would believe whatever I told her. "It was a switching spell. Sam wound up in my body, which allowed them to capture him. I was in Sam's body."

She raised her eyebrows at me. "You…were Sam?"

I nodded, "And it was very…very weird."

I saw amused understanding cross her face, "Things got weird between you and Dean, didn't they?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"But you got back into your own bodies…obviously." She commented.

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously. But…not until after Sam had been tortured."

"That's where you got the scars." It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. "That must have been hard."

We both went silent. I was taking a moment to process the fact that I finally had someone I could talk to about what I went through.

The silence was broken by a knock on the door. We looked at each other.

"Who's there?" Emily called out.

* * *

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 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	21. Chapter 21: Run

"Who's there?" I called out.

"Sam and Dean," came back Dean's distinctive voice.

Taylor and I sat up and looked at each other in relief.

I went over to open the door. "Hi guys." I smiled at them.

Dean looked a little proud, "Good to see you're being careful."

Sam just looked amused.

I moved to the side so that they could come in. They took the same seats as last night, with Dean sitting on the bed next to Taylor, and Sam perching on the edge of the desk, sitting a satchel on the floor next to him.

I resisted the urge to grin at the blush that crept up Taylor's face as Dean came close.

I chose to remain standing.

Sam gave me a curious look, "Going for a run?"

I shrugged, "No, but it's hard to break a habit. Normally I'd be going for a run about now, but it seems a little reckless with everything that's gone on this week."

"You don't have someone to run with?" He asked.

I shook my head, "Nah, not for lack of trying though." I shot Taylor a grin, "Taylor's not much for running."

She shook her head with a chuckle, "Nope, I just don't see running as a fun hobby."

Dean chuckled, "I'm with you. Running is for when something's chasing you…or something needs chasing."

Sam rolled his eyes, looking amused. "Well, I agree with you Emily. Nothing wrong with a good run." He smiled at me, "I could go with you now, if you want?"

I grinned, "That'd be awesome."

Dean frowned a little, "Not to burst your bubble guys, but we do have some work to do."

Sam was unfazed, "We can do both. You and Taylor can go over the files from the police station, and Emily and I can go check out the sites the bodies were found in daylight."

Dean scowled a little, "You just want to leave me with the book work."

Sam shrugged, and I decided to step in, giving Dean a grin. "It won't be that bad, you'll have Taylor to help you out." I winked at them.

Taylor blushed, trying and failing to hide a grin.

Dean smirked, then gave a dramatic sigh, "Fine. Go for your run, Taylor and I will do the real work."

I grinned wider, "Thanks Dean, you're awesome."

He laughed, "Yeah, I know."

Sam snorted, leaning down to pull out a laptop and a folder out of the satchel and giving them to Dean before turning to me. "Ready to go?"

I nodded, walking over to the door. When I got there I remembered that Emily didn't have a key for my room, "Are you guys going to stay here until we get back?"

Emily thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, we're here now."

"Ok," I opened the door and followed Sam into the corridor, calling behind me as I closed it, "No funny business on my bed!"

I heard them both burst out laughing, and grinned. We started walking towards the front doors. "So, where did you want to head first?" I asked.

"Out to the back ovals." Sam replied.

"What's out there?" I asked, I didn't think there had been any bodies found that side of campus. Then I realised. "They found another body, didn't they?" I asked quietly, glancing up at Sam.

He nodded, "Yeah, in the carpark next to the ovals."

It's not like it was unexpected, but I guess I had been kind of hoping that Sam and Dean turning up would stop anyone else from dying.

"We're doing our best." Sam said quietly, as if he'd read my thoughts.

I just nodded.

We walked out the front doors, both nodding to the day's security guard. Then we took off at a steady jog in the direction of the ovals.

By the time we reached the ovals I was feeling out of breath, blaming the fact that it had been nearly a week since I'd gone for a run. Sam on the other hand, with his ridiculously long legs, wasn't even breathing hard. "Guess you do a lot of running in your job." I commented.

He nodded, but his focus was elsewhere.

I followed his gaze, seeing the crime scene tape that was still surrounding a section of the carpark. There didn't appear to be anything to see within the tape except two cars that must have been left there overnight.

Sam ducked under the tape, and after a moment of hesitation I followed. As we walked around to the other side of the cars I stopped short, staring at the sight in front of me in shock. As the amount of blood on the pavement sunk in to my stunned brain I suddenly felt dizzy and leant over, trying not to gag.

Suddenly Sam was at my side, guiding me back beyond the crime scene tape to sit on the low rail along the side of the car park. "Just breathe." He told me calmly, resting his hand on my shoulder.

I had a momentary flash back to the cabin where Sam had said those same words to me as I watched a possessed woman bleed out. It had the opposite effect to his goal, my breathing becoming even more erratic as the current shock mixed with the past.

Sam was continuing to talk to me, but it wasn't registering. Suddenly I felt him slap me across the face, and I jumped, before staring at him in shock. "What the hell was that?!"

He shrugged a little, "You were hyperventilating. Had to stop you somehow."

I blinked, wanting to be annoyed at him, but unable to deny that he had successfully snapped me out of it.

I stood up, "Can we please get away from here?"

He nodded, "Yeah, sure. They still have walking tracks in the trees back there?" He pointed towards the trees along the outside of the ovals.

I looked at him in surprise, "Yeah…there are. How'd you know that?"

"I went to school here." He said matter of factly, taking off at a jog before I could say anything more.

I stared at his back for a moment, then took off after him.

We followed the dirt track into the trees. It was quiet, with just the sound of our breath and our feet hitting the ground to break the silence.

Sam set a fast pace, but I didn't mind. It meant that all my focus was on the path ahead of me, and not the blood behind me.

After a few minutes, Sam unexpectedly veered off the main path, slowing to navigate between the trees.

"Where…are…you…going?" I asked between gasps of air, following him off the track.

"There used to be a cabin around here." Sam said by way of explanation.

I looked at him in confusion, but he seemed to know where he was going, so I continued to follow him deeper into the trees.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22: Pain

I came to slowly, feeling like I'd been hit by a bus. My head throbbed painfully with every heart beat. Considering how rough the rest of me felt, I decided to be grateful that at least the constant thumping meant I was still alive.

I knew II really should open my eyes and work out where I was, and how serious a situation I had gotten myself into this time. But I was having trouble finding the motivation to do so.

Instead I opted for starting small, wiggling my toes and feeling the sting of pins and needles start up at the movement. Ok, so now I knew I'd been here a while.

I worked my way up. It didn't take me long to figure out that I was on some sort of chair, and that my feet were tied firmly to its legs.

My hands were tied, just as firmly, behind the back of the chair. My arms were jammed painfully against the sides of the back rest. I moved my hands and fingers around as much as the restraints would allow. Another wave of pins and needles assaulted me and I winced as I slowly loosened the stiffened joints. I reminded myself that it was a good sign, and that I'd be in a much better position to get free once I had full use of my numbed hands and feet.

Finally I slowly lifted my head from where it was slumped to my chest. My neck made a sickening cracking noise and the thumping in my head increased to the point where I felt like I might throw up.

I briefly considered giving up and letting myself fall back into unconsciousness, but I knew that I couldn't afford to do that. Even if I couldn't yet figure out why.

At last I opened my eyes, hoping for a clue as to where I was, and how I had gotten here.

The room was, thankfully, not very bright. It was lit by sunlight that was filtering in through the trees outside. I still had to take a few moments before my eyes managed to come into focus properly.

I moved my neck side to side gently, trying to ease the pain. Instead it sent a wave of pain through me that once again had me fighting to avoid throwing up. The pain did at least trigger a memory of being struck on the back of the head. That was one piece of the puzzle.

I turned my attention to the room around me. I was sitting in the middle of some sort of old building which was, judging by the trees, somewhere in the woods. Whatever its original purpose had been it had definitely seen better days.

I could see two windows, one to either side of me, and both had been broken. The doorway was in front of me, but the door itself lay on the floor off to the side.

The remainder of the contents of the room consisted of several more chairs, in various states degrees of brokenness, an old desk and a blackboard. A classroom perhaps? Why would there be a classroom in the woods?

I wished my rattled brain would hurry up and get in order.

Stanford. I was at Stanford…or at least I had been. Still didn't exactly answer why there would be an old abandoned classroom in the woods…

I was still trying to figure it out when the sounds of voices drifted in through the trees.

I went still, straining to hear the voices through the continued pounding in my head. Trying to work out if it was help on the way…or more pain.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" A female voice reached me first. It was followed by a low male voice that I couldn't hear properly. "Well, maybe it's not here anymore?" I realised I knew that voice, and I was about to call out when the male's voice reached me again, more clearly this time.

"There it is. See, I told you so." Oh no. I recognised that voice too. It was a voice I knew all too well, and it definitely should not be coming from out there.

"Ah crap…" I muttered to myself quietly, "Not again."

I looked down to check that I was definitely here and in one piece. Then I looked up, and watched myself walk into the room, with Emily close behind.

We were wrong. It was definitely not a werewolf.

He saw me looking at him in shock, and gave me a cold grin. "Sam, how nice of you to join us."

Emily's face moved from shock to confusion to fear before she spun around and tried to flee the cabin and the man standing next to her.

She barely made it five steps before the monster wearing my face caught her roughly by the arm.

"No!" She cried out and the fear in her voice sent a rush of adrenaline through me that finally cleared the confusion in my head. I started to fight the ropes that bound me to the chair.

"Let go of me!" Emily shouted, continuing to fight the monster who was dragging her back towards the doorway.

The monster just gave a cold laugh, suddenly sounding nothing like me, and yanked her arm towards him with enough force to pull her off feet. He tight grip on her arm was the only thing that kept her from going face first into the dirt.

She screamed in pain, feet scrabbling for purchase as he dragged her along.

I could feel the ropes cutting into my wrists as I fought to get free. I was going to rip him limb from limb. "Let her go you monster." I growled at him.

He practically tossed her towards the back corner of the room before spinning to face me, fury etched onto his face.

"Monster!" He screamed at me, "That's all you people think of me as! Monster or Freak!"

He spun to face Emily, who cowered deeper into the corner, cradling her arm as tears poured silently down her face. "It's your fault!"

* * *

 **Hi everybody! You know I can't have a story without at least a little hurt!Sam! So, hands up, who got the monster right? ;)**

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	23. Chapter 23: Madness

"It's your fault!" He screamed at me and I flinched away, scared for a moment that he was going to strike me.

He didn't, just looked at me with so much anger and hatred, and at least a little madness.  
I looked away. It hurt to see that look on Sam's face. I had to remind myself that it wasn't really Sam. Even if he looked exactly like Sam, and sounded like Sam too... Although I'd never heard Sam sound like this guy did now.

I was doing my best to be brave now, but I couldn't help the tears of pain and fear that were silently sliding down my face. I was pretty sure that he'd damaged something in my shoulder when he'd dragged me back inside.

The real Sam was of course here too. Which was of little comfort when he looked like he'd been beaten before he was tied to the chair. Most worrying was the dried blood on the collar of his shirt. It looked like the monster who was imitating him had smashed him over the head with something in order to get him here.

The monster obviously had some idea who they were dealing with. Sam was now tied to the chair in the middle of the room so tightly that I could see the ropes cutting into his wrists as he fought them in vain.

Finally deciding that he wasn't getting anything more out of me, he turned his attention back to Sam, expression changing from anger to amusement in an instant. "Having fun there Sammy?"

Sam glared at him and he just smirked. "You might as well quit fighting, you're never going to break out of those knots." He gave a nasty, "After all…they're yours." He tapped his head pointedly.

I looked between them, not understanding.

Sam stopped his struggling, but continued to glare at him. "He's a shape shifter." He explained to me, voice unexpectedly calm and controlled. "Not only do they take on the shape of the people they copy, but they can take their thoughts and memories as well. That's how they manage to fool people so successfully."

I looked at the shape shifter warily. I'd been afraid of him already, quickly working out that this was the monster that had been killing students all week. Knowing that he now knew everything that Sam knew…that made him all the more terrifying, because it would make him a lot harder to beat.

The shape shifter shrugged, "It's not without its perks."

His attention shifted suddenly back to me, his face morphing back to anger. "In fact it would be just great if it wasn't for you." He snarled at me.

"I…I don't even know you." I told him quietly, finally finding my voice. It even came out fairly steady to my relief.

"Well I know you." He sneered at me. "You're all the same, heartless monsters."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I am so sorry I haven't updated for so long! I have just been so busy I haven't had the energy to sit down and type out the chapters that are floating around in my head! But I promise I haven't forgotten you all and I definitely intend of finishing this story, even if it does take a little longer than planned :)**

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 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**

 **And thank you to all of you who are hanging in there silently!**

 **(And just to show how tired I am, I actually thought I posted this yesterday, and just realised that I'd added it to the Doc Manager...but never actually posted it! *Face palm* Sorry guys!)**


	24. Chapter 24: Dean's View

As soon as we'd finished at the police station we headed back to the university. Sam was unusually anxious to get back there, seeming twitchy the whole time we were at the station.

Clearly something was bothering him, but he refused to talk about it.

I was certain it had something to do with getting attacked this morning. Quite probably he was beating himself up over the fact that the thing managed to get the drop on him. Although, after the number of times that had happened to us over the years, I wouldn't expect it to affect him so much.

There was no point pushing him, but I made sure he knew that I was here when he was ready to talk about it.

Until then, we focussed on the case. After looking at the bodies we were still thinking that it was a werewolf, and Sam seemed to be sure now after his hesitation earlier. I was still bothered by the rope marks though. Tying their victims up was not normal werewolf behaviour.

Although, as Sam pointed out, monsters hadn't really been playing by the rule book for quite some time now…

Ultimately, looking at the bodies didn't really tell us anything we didn't know. So, we had picked up the case file copies from the officer out the front and headed back to the campus in silence.

It was a little after 8am when we got back to the girls dorm, so this time there was the quiet hum of students getting ready for the day.

We showed our ID's to the day guard at the door and headed up to their rooms. At least they should be awake by now.

Seeing as Emily's room was closest we knocked on her door first.

There was silence for a moment then I heard Emily call out. "Who's there?"

I smiled a little, it was good to see that they were taking basic precautions before opening the door, although I was bothered by the worry I could hear in her voice. Who else was she expecting to come knocking on the door?

I glanced at Sam, who just rolled his eyes a little looking almost amused that they'd bothered. I frowned at him, but didn't comment.

"Sam and Dean." I called back through the door and I heard the sound of someone walking across the room.

Emily opened the door with a smile. "Hi guys."

I smiled at her, "Good to see you're being careful."

She looked pleased at the praise as she stepped aside so that we could come in.

A quick look into the room showed that Taylor was already there, so we didn't need to go and get her.

I went over to sit down on the bed next to her, and I couldn't help but notice the tell-tale blush that crept up her face at the close proximity.

Apparently her feelings towards me hadn't changed after so many years, which rather surprised me actually.

She had been cute when we'd seen her last, and now she was a very attractive young woman. On the other hand, I don't think anyone could honestly say that the years had been kind to me…especially if you counted those years down in hell.

And somehow, she didn't seem fazed. I smiled at her and was rewarded with a bright smile and more blushing.

The Emily was speaking to her and she looked back at the other two.

"Taylor's not much for running." Emily said grinning at her.

Taylor shook her head, chuckling, "Nope, I just don't see running as a fun hobby."

I chuckled too, "I'm with you. Running is for when something's chasing you…or something needs chasing."

Sam rolled his eyes at us, looking amused. "Well, I agree with you Emily. Nothing wrong with a good run." He smiled at Emily, "I could go with you now, if you want?"

Emily broke into a grin, "That'd be awesome."

I frowned at them, wondering again what had gotten into Sam today. "Not to burst your bubble guys, but we do have some work to do."

Sam was unfazed, "We can do both. You and Taylor can go over the files from the police station, and Emily and I can go check out the sites the bodies were found in daylight."

I scowled a little, "You just want to leave me with the book work."

Sam just shrugged, looking like he couldn't care less about the case files we were supposed to be looking over.

Emily spoke up, grinning at me. "It won't be that bad, you'll have Taylor to help you out." She looked between us and winked.

Taylor blushed again, trying and failing to hide a grin.

I smirked, then gave a dramatic sigh, "Fine. Go for your run, Taylor and I will do the real work." Honestly, it was nice to see both girls looking so happy for the moment.

Emily's grin widened, "Thanks Dean, you're awesome."

I gave a bark of laughter before answering, "Yeah, I know."

Sam snorted, leaning down to pull out his laptop and the files out of his bag. He passed them over to me without a word, then turned his attention back to Emily, "Ready to go?"

She nodded, already walking towards the door. She turned to look at us before opening it, "Are you guys going to stay here until we get back?"

Taylor thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, we're here now."

Emily gave a little nod, "Ok." She opened the door, waiting for Sam to walk out into the corridor before following.

Just before the door clicked shut we heard her calling out, "No funny business on my bed!"

I grinned, and Taylor's blush turned into the full blown tomato red that I'd gotten to see so many times last time we were in close proximity.

After a moment Taylor cleared her throat nervously, "So…um, case files?" She pointed at the file in my hand.

I gave a bark of laughter, "Yup, case files."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! A full size chapter this time! Yay! I am curious if you guys like getting similar scenes from different people's views, or if you feel like I am giving you too much of the same again? I feel like I need to write chapters like this because I only write one person's thoughts and feelings per chapter, and I think some scenes need to be seen from more than one person's perspective! Let me know what you think :)**

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	25. Chapter 25: Playing With Fire

I couldn't believe Emily did that. I was pretty sure you could fry an egg on my face right now. And that grin that Dean was giving me…my stomach did a flip flop.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to get my voice to come out steady. "So…um, case files?" I pointed to the file in Dean's hand, unable to look him in the eye just yet. I wasn't sure what I'd see, and if I saw the same desire in his face as I felt for him…I don't think the case files would be getting looked at for a while…

He gave a bark of laughter, "Yup, case files."

I laughed too, glad that he wasn't going to make a big deal of the tension in the room. The heat in my face started to ease.

I watched him look around, trying to find somewhere to work. There was a reason Emily and I usually went to the library to study. She had a desk, but it was already full of her study notes.

We could go to the library, but we'd told the others that we'd stay here. Anyway, considering that it was already after 8am and the dining hall was already open, I didn't expect them to be gone very long. Just long enough for Emily to work off the restlessness of being confined to her room of a morning.

So instead I came up with an alternate solution.

Dean gave me a confused look as I slid off the side of the bed to sit on the floor. I held out a hand for the file, and I saw him realise that the floor was the only space we could spread out the information in the file.

After a moment he shrugged, then passed the file and laptop to me with a laugh. "Well, I guess that'll do the trick."

I nodded and put the file and laptop onto the floor in front of me.

He sat down on the floor next to me, leaning back against the side of the bed with an exaggerated groan. "I'm too old for this you know." He grumbled jokingly.

I laughed, "You are not old."

He raised an eyebrow at me, "You sure about that?"

I nodded, replying without hesitation. "Yup."

He looked at me as though he was trying to figure me out.

I felt my face start to heat again. "What?" I asked, laughing.

He smirked, "Just wondering if you need glasses."

I hit him playfully on the arm, "Shut up."

His face lit up with a playful grin, and he pushed my shoulder with his. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, is it?"

I laughed, "You bet…old man."

He gave me an exaggerated look of offence, though I could see him trying not to laugh, "You did not!"

I just laughed harder, "I did."

He pushed me just hard enough to knock me over, then leant over me grinning. "Take it back."

"Nope." I tried and failed for a serious face, and instead just grinned at his sudden close proximity, feeling my heart beat harder.

His grin turned almost feral, causing all sorts of feeling to shoot through me. "Take it back, or else."

"Or else what?" I asked, poking him in the chest. I knew I was playing with fire…but I didn't care.

He narrowed his eyes at me, grinning, "Or else…I'll do this." And with that he started to tickle me under the arms.

"Ah! No!" I burst into uncontrollable laugher, squirming to escape his playful attack.

He kept tickling me till I was gasping for breath between the laughter. "Ah! OK, ok! Stop!"

He paused his attack, and I took the chance to catch my breath. "Take it back." His voice stayed light and playful…but I had seen the heat flare in his eyes when I started to squirm beneath him.

I had to press my lips together to keep from moaning at the intense way he was looking at me now, especially when he was still hovering above me, both of us breathing hard.

"You are definitely not old." I told him breathlessly, pressing one hand to his chest, while the other pressed into the floor next to me in an attempt to stay grounded.

He licked his lips and I had to fight the urge to moan again, "No…I guess I'm not." He agreed.

He was still staring at me intently, and I could feel his heart beating hard against my palm, matching the rapid beat of my own.

My previous nervousness had faded at the playful contact, and I met his stare steadily and bit my lip playfully.

His eyes darkened with desire and he let out a faint groan. "Are you…are you sure about this?" He asked.

I only hesitated for a moment before I nodded. "Yeah" I breathed.

He studied me then nodded, and licked his lips again before starting to lower his lips to mine.

I closed my eyes…and that's when Dean's phone rang.

We both groaned in frustration at the same time, then laughed.

"This is not over." I told him.

He chuckled, "Till next time, then."

The warmth of his body moved away from mine and I gave a huff of frustration, causing him to laugh.

At least I had the satisfaction of knowing I wasn't the only one left unsatisfied. I smirked at him, and the noticeable bulge in his pants.

He rolled his eyes at me with a smirk as he answered the phone. "Hey Sam, what's up?"

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Phew, it's getting steamy in here! ;) Such a fun chapter to write! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!**

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	26. Chapter 26: Fear

I was tempted for a moment to tell Sam to piss off, we were busy, but I didn't. To be honest, part of me was glad for the interruption.

After that little moment there was no denying that there were feelings between us…on both sides. I knew that if I let things go much further there would be no turning back.

Our life was not one that allowed successful long term relationships…except in very rare circumstances. And I had too much respect for Taylor for this to be a one night thing.

And so I answered the phone… after rolling my eyes at Taylor's dramatic sigh of frustration and smirking at look she was directing towards my crotch. Like I said…hard to deny there was an attraction.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" I was hoping they'd found a decent clue…especially as Taylor and I had achieved, so far, nothing.

The only sound on the other end of the phone was the sound of heavy breathing. For a moment I thought that Sam had butt dialled me while he was running.

I wish…I knew Sammy well enough to know that that was not the sound of a relaxed run. It was the sound of him breathing heavily with fear.

I plummeted from the high I'd been on just moments before. "Sam! Sammy! Talk to me!"

Taylor sat upright, looking instantly scared at the tone of my voice.

"Dean!" I could breathe again when Sammy finally replied, at least he was still able to talk to me.

"Sammy, what happened?" I asked, forcing myself to be calm.

"It…it got her Dean!" There was a scuffling sound, as though Sam was shoving his way through trees.

The ovals.

I was already heading for the door before he could continue speaking.

"It got Emily! It was just too fast, Dean." His voice breaking was like a physical blow.

"I'm on my way." I told him. "Just tell me where you are."

Taylor was now standing, staring at me anxiously, wanting answers. I took a step towards her and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. She held on tight.

"The woods! We were in the woods near the ovals! We…" The phone dropped out.

"Sammy!" I swore. There was no way that was good.

"Dean….Dean, what happened? What's going on?" Taylor's voice wavered, and I could see tears threatening to spill.

"It…it got Emily." I told her quietly, I wasn't going to lie to her.

Her free hand flew up to her face, "No…" The tears fell.

"We'll get her back." I assured her, wrapping her in a tight hug.

She nodded against my chest as she held onto me tight.

After a moment she pulled back and wiped her eyes. "Let's go."

I frowned at her. "Taylor…"

"Please Dean." She begged me, "Emily's my best friend!"

"I know." I told her gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But I need you to stay here."

She started to protest, but I interrupted, "I need you to stay here…because I can't give my whole focus to helping Sam and finding Emily…if I'm worried about you."

She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times at that admission, then gave me another tight hug. "Ok." She whispered. "Be careful."

I gave her a final squeeze, "Always." I let her go. "Lock the door, and don't open it for anyone but Sam, Emily or me." She nodded.

And then I was out the door and heading for the front hall as fast as I could go without people thinking I was up to something…Last thing I needed was to be held up by some well-meaning security guard.

Once I was outside the building, however, I took off at a full sprint towards Baby. I wasn't going in unprepared. I wish Sam had been able to give me more details. I knew that he would have had at least one gun and a knife on him when they were attacked, neither of us went anywhere without those. But clearly it had not been enough.

Knowing that it would be faster to drive I jumped in the car and took off. Driving through the busy campus at a safe speed just about made me want to scream in frustration, but I still got to the ovals faster than I could have run from the dorms.

I pulled into a park and rushed around to the trunk. There, I grabbed a bag and threw in knives, guns, stakes, salt and silver bullets, making sure to put a few into the gun tucked into my belt.

There was no sign of Sammy, and I couldn't go shouting out for him, as there was a group of students practicing soccer on the ovals next to me.

I decided to work with what little I knew, which was that he was planning on checking out the sites where the bodies were found.

That was easy to find, thanks to the police tape still up, but other than the bloodied patch where the body had been there was nothing there. Certainly no sign of either Sam or Emily.

I sighed in frustration and started to walk around the outskirt of the ovals. If the area wasn't so busy I might have been able to see where they'd entered the woods. As it was I had no way of knowing if a disturbed area was them, animals or one of the soccer players fetching a stray ball.

I tried Sammy's phone again…and got a message telling me that his number was currently unavailable. I felt another stab of fear.

"C'mon Sammy…" I muttered, "Talk to me…"

* * *

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	27. Chapter 27: Unwanted Understanding

"In fact it would be just great if it wasn't for you." The shape shifter snarled at Emily. With the way his moods were swinging around, I was starting to think that he was just a little unhinged. Which was, of course, what you wanted in a homicidal monster…not.

If only I could at least keep him away from Emily until I could get myself out of these damn ropes. At least now that I knew he had tied me up with my own knots I knew that I was never going to break through by fighting to pull my hands free. But at least I now knew what I was working with…

"I…I don't even know you." Emily told him quietly.

I didn't know whether to be proud of her for being able to speak up without sounding completely terrified…or frustrated that she had just drawn more attention towards herself.

"Well I know you." He took a step towards her. "You're all the same, heartless monsters."

A look of sick understanding passed over her face. "That's…that's why you took their hearts."

Now I was definitely impressed, and also far too aware that I most definitely had a concussion, because I was still struggling to focus, and she was figuring out this thing's motives.

I'm sure I'd have figured a way out of this damn chair by now if my head wasn't still pounding so distractingly, especially now that the initial adrenaline rush of seeing him dragging Emily in had worn off.

I think he was also a little surprised that she was starting to work him out. I could see conflicting emotions cross his face. Sadness, hope…and then they were gone, shut down as quickly as they came to be replaced with another scowl. "Don't try and pretend you understand me." He snapped, kicking some of the debris on the floor at her.

She flinched away, the movement causing her to gasp in pain and grip her arm harder.

I saw fresh tears run down her face and yet, to my surprise, she kept talking to him. "Why did you…" She grimaced, clearly thinking about what he'd done to the bodies. "What did they do to deserve being…torn apart?"

"Stop!" He shouted at her, "You do NOT understand me!" He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Let her go!" I shouted at him, feeling horribly helpless to stop him.

He shoved her into one of the chairs at the side of the room and started to tie her to it the same way I was tied.

"No! Please!" She struggled against him despite the pain it was clearly causing her.

He just thumped her injured shoulder, hard enough for her to scream and to take the fight out of her, then took the chance to quickly finish tying the ropes.

"I am going to kill you, just like I killed the others." He told her with a cold calmness.

"Please…" She whimpered, tears pouring down her face now that her arm was tied up, wrenched behind her.

He turned to me, "And you will watch me do it."

I tensed. This couldn't be happening…There had to be something I could do to stop this.

Then he laughed, a sound that made my blood run cold. "Think about that, while I go and get your dear Taylor. Wouldn't want her to miss out on all the fun."

"No!" Emily screamed at him as he disappeared out the door. "No…" She let her head hang as she sobbed.

She looked like it would take a single touch to break her. It just about broke my heart to see.

"Emily?" I spoke quietly. She didn't react. "Emily. Look at me Emily." I spoke gently but firmly.

She sniffed and looked up at me. She looked scared.

"No one else is dying, ok? We are getting out of here and we are going to get that monster before he can hurt anyone else."

She looked at me sceptically. "How? We're both hurt, and if you could get out of those ropes you would have by now."

I chuckled a little, "Not much gets past you, does it?"

She gave me a watery smile and shook her head a little.

"Well, don't worry. I'm fine, and I'm sure between us we can figure out a way to cut through these ropes." I smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes at me, "No, you're not. Doctor in training remember?"

I couldn't really argue that…I knew I wasn't ok. Didn't mean I was going to let her know just how not ok I was. Instead I shrugged, "Not going to stop us from getting out of here."

I wasn't even going to bother asking if she was ok.

"You see anything sharp?" I asked her, seeing as she seemed to be pulling herself together now that she was talking.

She sniffed again and looked around. "Nothing in reach…"

I followed her line of sight to the broken window of to my side. "Ah damn," I muttered to myself as I judged the distance.

"What?" She frowned at me.

I sighed, "This is going to hurt..."

Before she could realise what I was doing and try and talk me out of it, I tossed my whole weight towards the window.

There was a stomach turning moment of floating, and then I hit the ground…hard.

* * *

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	28. Chapter 28: Escape

"Sam! Sam!" He hit the floor with a horrid thud…and he wasn't moving. "Come on Sam! Please! You can't do this to me!" I was terrified. Why would Sam even try a move like that with a head wound like that!? He was more impaired than I'd feared…and I'd already seen that he was not himself.

There was no way Sam in his right mind would have had to wait for me to figure out what was going on in that monsters head and get him to leave…

And now…now I was tied to a chair and helpless. I'd like to say that I was brave enough to try what Sam just did, but I wasn't. I was afraid to move for fear of doing further damage to my injured shoulder. Just staying still with it pulled behind me was agonising. I was afraid it was dislocated…I'd seen what was involved in getting a shoulder back in. I shuddered.

Finally Sam groaned and started moving. "Oh, thank god. Sam!"

"What…?" Sam tried to move, but was of course stopped by the fact that he was still tied to the chair.

"Sam, you are injured and tied to a chair. You need to cut yourself free with the glass near your hand." I couldn't help him until we both got free… I just hoped he was with it enough to follow instructions. At least he'd managed to aim surprisingly well, possibly through sheer luck, and there was a decent shard of glass right next to his hand.

"Glass." He muttered, feeling around within the limited range of his hand.

"That's right." I confirmed, "Just a little more to the left."

He paused for a moment, then managed to follow my instructions and move his hand over the shard. That was a good sign.

I cringed as he picked up the shard, but even in his impaired state, he managed to avoid slicing his finger open.

"Now cut through the rope, Sam. Careful." I tried to keep the fear out of my voice as I wondered how on Earth we were going to get out of this place once we were freed. I wasn't sure I'd even remember the way back to the path, and I was fairly certain that Sam hadn't even been conscious when he'd been dragged here.

Then Sam was free and sitting up, gently moving his wrists and arms around assessingly.

"Sam?" I asked.

Finally he looked up at me apologetically. "That…didn't really work as planned."

I blinked, then couldn't help but laugh. "No shit."

He smirked, and slowly worked his way onto his knees and stood up, swaying slightly.

I watched him, worried that he was going to go crashing to the floor again.

He saw me watching and gave me a smile that was meant to be reassuring…but didn't quite succeed. "I'll be fine." He told me, making his way over to me and moving to the back of the chair. He was at least starting to look more alert now that he was up and moving.

"Glad you didn't try and tell me you are fine." I told him, trying not to think about the piece of glass so close to my wrists or the movement that would come next. "Or I'd have to call you a liar."

He chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't want you to have to do that would I?"

I felt the rope give way and stretched out my good arm before gritting my teeth as he very gently moved my injured arm around to the front of my body. It didn't stop more tears from falling down my face.

"I'm sorry." He said gently as he examined my arm with expert fingers. I just nodded, afraid that if I opened my mouth to speak I would scream. "You know it's dislocated?" I nodded again.

He sighed, "You have two choices. I can relocate it now…"

My eyes went wide and I shook my head emphatically.

He nodded with a frown, "Yeah, I thought you might say that. Ok then, let's get it in a sling."

I nodded, whimpering a little as he gently moved my arm so that it was across my chest. "Can you hold it there for me?" He asked.

I nodded and cradled it with my other arm while he folded my shirt up to offer the arm some support. I sniffed, "I thought I was supposed to be the doctor…"

He chuckled a little and winked. "I'll let you play doctor when I'm done."

I was caught off guard by the comment and burst out laughing despite the pain I was in. He grinned as he looped the rope from the chair carefully around my wrist, and I got the impression that that had been his goal. "Cheeky boy." I commented wiping my eyes with my now free hand.

He shrugged, "It has been said." He looped the rope around the back of my neck and secured it again to my wrist. "There you go. It's not the most comfortable arrangement I'm sure, but it'll keep it secure till we can get you to a hospital."

I slowly let the makeshift sling take the weight of my arm and nodded. "It'll do fine, thank you."

He smiled and helped me to stand up.

Once I was sure I was steady on my feet I pointed to the chair. "Your turn. Let me at least check that head wound of yours before we go stumbling through the woods." I cut him off before he could protest. "Now. I'm not having you collapsing on me. I can't carry you."

He made a noise that was half laugh and half frustrated huff, but he sat down.

I moved around behind him and gently parted his hair over the wound, wincing in sympathy as I saw him tense. "Sorry…" I murmured as I prodded the area as gently as possible.

Once I was satisfied that there was no skull fracture under the mess of blood matted hair I moved back around to the other side of him. "Follow my finger." He rolled his eyes at me, but he followed my finger with them as I moved it around.

"Can we go now Doctor?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Yes we can go. I have no doubt you have a pretty serious concussion, and if we weren't hunting a monster I'd be insisting you went to a hospital…But I know that would be a waste of breath just now."

He stood up and patted my good shoulder, "I know, and I promise we will both be going to a hospital as soon as we stop that shape shifter from hurting Taylor or Dean, or anyone else."

I sighed and nodded, "Come on, let's find our way out of here."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Hooray, another chapter! Even though I have the key points of the story mapped out, it's still just as much of a surprise to me as it is everyone else how we get there! lol And I do love writing injured characters (who knows what that says about me! ;) )**

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	29. Chapter 29: Always Carry Silver

I hated being left behind while everyone else was out there putting their lives at risk to stop the monster that was terrorising the campus. Not that I wanted to go putting my own life on the line… Still, I felt so useless stuck here, and the stress of not knowing what was happening was just torture.

Dean hadn't even told me what was going on before he ran out the door. Of course I knew that something had gone badly wrong just from the look on his face.

I guess I hadn't really wanted to know the details, but now I wished I'd asked.

I found myself alternating between pacing around the room and sitting on the bed staring out the window, hoping to see Sam and Dean and Emily coming back together… safe.

I was at a point of staring intently out the window when there was a bang on the door. It gave me such a fright I nearly fell of the bed.

I took a moment to catch my breath before calling out, heart pounding, "Who is it?"

"It's Dean," came the quick reply.

I bolted to the door and flung it open. Dean stood in the doorway, looking much calmer than when he'd left…but there was no sign of either Emily or Sam.

"Where are they?!" I demanded, moving aside to let him in. "What happened? Did you find them? Are they OK?"

Dean held up a hand to halt the rush of questions. "Calm down Taylor, everything's fine."

I pushed the door closed and stared at him expectantly, waiting for the rest of the story. He'd left here in a panic, and now everything was just fine?

"Well?!" I prompted when no further information was forthcoming. "What. Happened?"

He gave a huff and rolled his eyes. "Sam and Emily got separated, and he panicked. She's fine. They're waiting for us to join them for breakfast. You ready to go?"

I frowned at him. That was it? Something just wasn't right with this picture.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "So, you ready, or what?"

"Um…just give me a second." I told him, moving over to the stuff still on the floor beside the bed and tidying it up to give me a moment to think.

Then I realised what it was that was bothering me. Apart from the fact that Dean was acting a little weird…especially considering what we'd been up to before he left. I had never known Sam to panic unnecessarily…I don't think I'd even seen him panic.

I picked everything up and sat it carefully on the bed before turning back to Dean…if it was Dean.

He was looking at me impatiently.

I had an idea. "Almost ready." I told him, "Could you just give me a quick hand to get my hair clip in straight?" I forced out a light hearted chuckle, "It got knocked out of place earlier."

I pulled out the hair clip, the butterfly clip that Emily had given me, and held it out to him.

"Yeah, whatever." He moved over to me and took the clip…before shouting in pain and tossing it roughly across the room. "What the hell was that?!" He demanded angrily as I jumped around to the other side of him, moving closer to the door under the guise of getting a fright when he shouted.

My heart was beating so hard I was surprised he couldn't hear it as I slowly backed away. "That…that was a silver hairclip…and you are not Dean."

His face turned from confused anger to terrifying fury. "Well, aren't you smart." He sneered at me.

I felt the door handle at my back and grabbed it, flinging the door open and running out into the hall as fast as my legs would go.

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	30. Chapter 30: Finding Sammy

I was faced with a dilemma. I was fairly sure that Sam was somewhere in the woods in front of me. Problem is, I had no idea where he might be, or even how big an area the woods might cover.

It wasn't like I could organise a search party.

I was also acutely aware of the fact that Taylor was waiting anxious and alone back at the dorm rooms.

I decided to give myself half an hour to try and find Sam, and if I hadn't found him by then I would go back to check on Taylor and regroup.

On the car park side of the field there was a track going into the forest. I decided that, considering that there were other people around, it was a good bet that that was where they had entered the woods. So that's where I chose to start.

The path was surprisingly well worn, making it hard to distinguish any one set of shoe prints. As I moved down the path I forced myself to move slowly and carefully, eyes scanning the path and surrounding trees for any signs of Sam, Emily, or the monster.

I knew I couldn't afford to miss anything, but it was still hard to keep myself from running through the woods shouting Sammy's name.

The self-control paid off. I'd never have seen it if I'd been moving any quicker.

It was just a small scrap of fabric caught on the top of a rock that was jutting up out of the dirt near the side of the track. It could have been from anything, but it caught my eye because it was too clean to have been there for long.

I knelt down to examine it and felt a fresh wave of fear for Sammy's safety. It was torn off the edge of the shirt Sammy had been wearing this morning.

What really worried me, though, was the blood. It stained the piece of shirt and the ground beside it. Sam had clearly fallen hard onto the ground here, doing more harm than just a torn shirt.

Frustratingly though, there was almost no other signs to tell me what had happened. I could at least tell from the fact that the blood was already dry that it had probably happened before Sam had called me, possibly in whatever struggle had occurred when he and Emily had been separated.

There was a trail of blood drips that continued up the path, and I followed them until they stopped again. The worry continued to churn in my gut. Everything about this was wrong. Sam and Emily were supposed to have been looking at the scene of the attack. Why had they entered the woods in the first place? And why had a seen no other signs of them passing through? Even now I had evidence that Sam had been here, I still couldn't see his boot prints in the dirt.

I was growing increasingly concerned that he had not come this way by choice, or under his own power. And if that was the case, what had happened to Emily? Was there maybe more than one monster? Werewolves did run in packs sometimes. We may have seriously underestimated the danger we were all in.

Still, something in that theory just didn't feel right…

And now, despite carefully studying the area around the end of the blood trail, I couldn't find any sign that Sam, and possibly a monster, had continued down the path.

I let out a huff of frustration and moved a little way into the trees, seeing if they'd left the path.

At first I could only see the faint signs of someone maybe moving through this way, a couple of snapped twigs and crushed grass. I knew there was a chance it was just an animal track, but I kept going. I had a feeling I was heading in the right direction.

I was right, and now sure that Sam had not walked in here on his own.

Out of sight of the path the monster had dropped the careful caution of not leaving a trail. Sam had been dragged through the trees, leaving an easy to follow, but painful to see, path.

There was more blood, torn clothing and a few places where his hair had caught on something and been ripped out.

I checked my gun as I sped down the path, when I found this thing I was going to shoot first and forget the questions. There was no excuse for treating my Sammy like that.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Sorry, I was planning on getting more written this week, I actually had this chapter written in a notebook since Tuesday, but it took till today to get it typed up! Still, here it is! Better late than never ;)**

 **Thankyou to sensualxstacy and Sallyannerenee for your great reviews!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers!**


	31. Chapter 31: Questions

Now that I had a clear path to follow, and some serious anger motivating me, I found the cabin in no time.

I had a momentary flash back to the state Sammy was in when Taylor, Cas and I had found him in a cabin not unlike this one several years ago. I sincerely hoped I wasn't in for a re-run and wished that Cas was in any state to help out right now.

Like last time, I took the time to circle the cabin from the protection of the trees, but I couldn't see or hear anyone. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

The patch of fresh dug dirt, which looked disturbingly like a fresh grave, was definitely not a good sign.

I took a moment to check my gun, then held it ready in front of me as I moved silently towards the cabin. I approached from the back, preventing anyone from seeing me through either of the broken windows or the doorway.

However, a careful look into one of the windows when I reached it revealed that there was no-one inside the room, just some old broken furniture.

I resisted the urge to punch the wall in frustration. I was losing time here, who knows what state Sammy was in…or what had happened to Emily.

I yet again forced myself to stay calm and moved around to the front of the cabin looking for evidence of where they may have gone from here.

Near the doorway the dirt showed signs of a struggle. I knelt down to look more closely.

There were two sets of prints in the kicked up dirt, and they told a very clear story…one which did not make any sense.

One set of prints were very clearly Sam's, which should have been a relief…if not for the fact that I was sure that the other set of prints were Emily's, and the two had clearly been fighting.

I know Sam had not exactly been himself this morning, but I could think of no situation where Sam would attack Emily, and yet that appeared to be what had happened…

I could see where she had run away from the doorway, Sam following, only to fall…or be thrown…into the dirt before being dragged back inside, fighting the whole way.

I had the sick feeling that something was seriously wrong.

I moved into the cabin and gave my eyes a moment to adjust.

There were traces of blood that lead to a chair lying on its side in a pile of broken glass. The blood looked recent.

There were ropes next to the chair, and they too had blood on them. They appeared to have been roughly cut off…and I could only hope that that meant who-ever they'd been holding had escaped.

A closer look around the room showed that the dust in one corner had been recently disturbed, as though someone had been sitting there.

I was sure that they'd been here. Now I just had to work out where they'd gone next…and if Sam was still entirely my Sam.

I moved back outside to once again painstakingly search for signs.

I found them on the edge of the disturbed dirt, slightly obscured, as though they'd been trying to hide their path. Footprints heading back into the woods in front of the cabin, into a different section to the path I'd followed in.

Sam had definitely headed this way, and I could only hope Emily too. I couldn't tell among the scuffs whether her prints headed away from the cabin again.

With a sigh I headed off into the woods again, following the more recent trail of broken sticks and squashed grass.

I moved as fast as I dared without risking losing the trail, gun still held ready at my side. I wasn't feeling quite so eager to shoot first ask questions later now that I had so many questions and so few answers…

A way into the woods I paused, listening. Was that a voice up ahead?

I crept forwards more slowly, keeping very quiet as I listened closely for any sounds from ahead.

As I got closer I was sure, it was someone speaking quietly but urgently, and then another voice arguing back in a low tone.

The sick feeling increased. It sounded like Sam and Emily were arguing up ahead. I circled around, coming at them from the side.

When they came into sight my heart skipped a beat. I knew Sammy had been treated roughly…but to see him so battered and bruised and dirty, limping along next to an also injured Emily… All I wanted to do was run to him and wrap him in a hug, then carefully treat his wounds.

But…I couldn't erase the uneasy feeling that things weren't right.

So, as much as it hurt me to do so, I approached slowly, gun ready but held slightly behind me and out of sight.

"Sam?" I asked cautiously, "Emily?"

Their heads swung in my direction in surprise.

"Dean!" Emily cried, starting to move towards me…only to be stopped by Sam with a hand on her arm. She looked at him in confusion, then suddenly looked back at me, fear in her eyes.

It looked like she was scared of me…

"Emily, are you ok?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.

She didn't respond, just looked back at Sam as if for guidance.

Sam studied me with an expression I couldn't figure out. "Where's Taylor?" He finally asked.

It seemed like a strange first question, and I looked at him in confusion. "She's back at the room…I didn't want to put her in danger while I found you." I indicated to Emily, "I see you found her again."

It was Sam's turn to look confused, "What are you talking about?"

I frowned at him, "You called me. Said the werewolf had got Emily." I explained slowly, as though he were simple.

He groaned, but appeared to relax a little, "It's not a werewolf. It's a shape shifter."

I swore quietly, I hated shape shifters. Although now their wariness made sense. "Well, I'm not it." I told them, moving my gun out from behind my leg.

They both tensed, but I just took out the clip and removed a silver bullet. I held it up to show that it wasn't burning my skin, and then tossed it to Sam.

He caught it easily, holding it up with a little smile before passing it to Emily. She looked at it in confusion, but relaxed a little along with Sam and I.

"It's silver." I pointed out. "None of us are shifters."

"Oh. In that case…" She smiled a little, and then finally rushed over to hug me. "Boy are we glad to see you!"

* * *

 **Hi everybody! We are nearing the end now! Just a couple of chapters to go! As always I'll be both happy and sad to see the story end!**

 **Just so you know, I may not get anothe** **r chapter up for a couple of weeks as I am about to go on holidays and will probably not be able to upload!**

 **I know it's been a bit slow going this time, and once it's finished I probably wont be starting another chapter fic for a little while whilst I focus on my studies, but I promise I'll continue to post one-shots!**

 **Thankyou to Sallyannerenee for your constant support!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	32. Chapter 32: Out of the Frying Pan

"It's silver." Dean pointed out. "None of us are shifters."

"Oh. In that case…" I smiled a little, and then finally rushed over to hug him. "Boy are we glad to see you!"

He chuckled and held me for a moment, being careful of my injured shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked, moving back to check me over.

I started to nod, then shrugged my good shoulder, "I will be."

He patted me on my good shoulder and nodded, "That's the spirit."

I rolled my eyes at him.

Once he'd finished his quick study of me, he moved over to Sam, who was still standing in the same spot he'd been in since Dean caught us by surprise. There was a faint smile of relief on his face now that Dean was here, but it was overshadowed by the pain in his eyes.

"Sammy." He said softly, with an unexpected tenderness that made me feel like I was intruding.

"Hey Dean." Sam replied and let Dean wrap him in a tight hug.

"Don't scare me like that again, dammit." Dean berated him, but there was no heat in the words.

Sam chuckled lightly, "Good luck with that."

Dean sighed, "Yeah…"

He moved back to study Sam like he had me, "That bastard did a number on you, didn't he?"

Sam let him fuss for a few moments, doing much the same checks as I had before we'd left the cabin. Finally he put his hands up, "Hey, I'm good, ok? I've already had doc in training over there check me over." He nodded at me with a smile.

Dean snorted, "And let me guess, she also told you that you have a concussion and some pretty serious contusions, not to mention that limp I saw a minute ago." He lifted the sleeve of Sam's shirt, revealing a nasty gash that he had managed to hide from me, "And you've split your stitches."

Sam shrugged. "I live. And like I promised her, I will go to the hospital as soon as we take care of the shifter." He told Dean firmly. "Now let's get moving, we need to get back to Taylor before he does."

On that we could all agree. Dean wrapped Sam's arm around his shoulders and an arm around his waist, supporting him way more effectively than I'd been able to.

We only made it a few more steps down the path though before we heard a sound that stopped us in our tracks.

It was a scream of inhuman rage, and it came from the direction of the cabin.

We still would have kept going, trying to get back to the dorms in time, if it wasn't for the following scream. This time, it was one of pain.

"Taylor!" I cried, staring at Sam and Dean as though they could make this ok.

They shared a sombre look, "Too late." Sam said quietly.

Dean swore quietly, looking between us and the direction of the cabin with a torn look on his face.

Sam made the decision for him. "You're not going in there alone. This thing is powerful…and even more so when we can't tell who to trust. We are staying together."

Dean didn't look happy, but he didn't argue. "You got any weapons? Silver?"

Sam shook his head, "He's got my gun and my knife."

I suddenly realised something, and thunked myself in the head hard enough for Sam and Dean to stare at me in concern. "Silver!" I exclaimed, pulling my necklace out from under my shirt. "I had it the whole time…" I felt like an idiot. Why didn't I remember that when he grabbed me?

Dean shook his head slightly, possibly questioning my sanity after that outburst, but Sam looked at me sympathetically. "You were scared, you don't always think straight when you're scared."

Dean nodded his agreement, "Just keep hold of it now, ok? I don't like you having to get close to him again."

I nodded, taking the necklace off and wrapping it around my wrist like a bracelet so that it was more accessible.

Dean nodded his approval. He put the silver bullet he'd passed around back into his gun, and then pulled another out of a bag that he had slung over one shoulder, handing it to Sam. "Ok, you know the drill. Silver bullet to the heart."

Sam nodded, "Let's do this quick, before he does any more harm."

I swallowed nervously as I followed them back towards the cabin we had just escaped from. To be honest I was terrified to face that thing again, especially knowing what he had already done to Sam and I, but I was not separating from them. So back to the cabin I went. I sent out a silent prayer that this was not about to end really badly…for all of us.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Luckily for you, I found time for another chapter before I leave for my holiday! Sorry that it's a bit of a cliffhanger... ;)**

 **Thankyou to Sallyannerenee for your review!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	33. Chapter 33: Into the Fire

I stayed behind Sam and Dean as we made our way back towards the cabin. They were talking in low voices, no doubt trying to come up with a plan of attack that would result in as few additional injuries as possible.

I didn't even try to join in. All I could hear was my heart beat thumping in my ears. I was still recovering from the shock of getting attacked by a Sam look-a-like, not to mention the fact that my dislocated shoulder was still hurting like hell.

I hoped that whatever plan Sam and Dean came up with, it would avoid any of us getting tossed around again. Hopefully it didn't involve getting close to the thing at all. I'd just learnt how strong a shape shifter was. I'd had zero chance once he'd gotten hold of me.

I was so lost in my worried thoughts that I ran into Dean, having failed to notice that he'd stopped walking. I wouldn't have blamed him for getting annoyed at me for it, either. Apart from the fact that I should definitely be paying attention right now…monster in the vicinity and all, he was also helping to keep Sam upright. He didn't though, just quietly asked if I was ok.

I shrugged my good shoulder at that. What was I supposed to say? That if it wasn't my best friend in there I'd be running in the opposite direction by now?

He seemed to understand, reaching his hand around to squeeze mine. "It'll be over soon." He assured me quietly.

Sam nodded in agreement, "and he won't get the drop on me this time."

I wished I shared their confidence. "Ok, so what's the plan?" I asked, putting on a brave face.

"That depends…" Dean sighed and looked at Sam, who raised his eyebrows expectantly. I got the feeling they had differing ideas on whatever plan they'd come up with.

"On what?" I prompted

When Dean didn't continue Sam took over, "On whether you are willing to go back into the cabin to help distract him."

"Or," Dean added pointedly, "If you want to stay safely hidden nearby. You don't have to go in there, especially when you are already injured."

"So is Sam." I pointed out, and a lot worse than I was. I sighed and shook my head. "I'm not going to hide while my best friend is in danger. Don't get me wrong, I don't Want to go back in there, but if you think the best plan involves me then I'm in. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Sam nodded approvingly. "All you have to do is talk to him, just like you did before. Get in his head, get him agitated and keep him distracted so Dean or I can take him out."

I processed that for a moment, remembering the anger and instability he'd shown last time. "You…you want me to make him angry?" I confirmed, wondering if one of us had taken too many knocks to the head.

Dean nodded, looking a lot less keen on this plan than Sam. "Just to distract him and give us a better chance of taking him out without a fist fight."

Well, I had to agree that we'd all be better off if things didn't get physical…I took a deep breath and then nodded. "Ok. Let's get this over with."

Dean nodded, and adjusted the arm supporting Sam.

"I can walk." Sam grumbled, sounding frustrated, but I got the impression he was more frustrated at his own weakness than Dean's help.

Dean frowned, but moved his arm away, staying close just in case. "Sam's going to stay outside. Let it think he was too injured to help rescue Taylor."

I nodded, thinking that he kind of wasn't…

"He's going to try and take it out with a shot through the window, so stay near the door so he has a clear line of fire." Dean continued.

I nodded again, though I was more than a little concerned at the idea of relying on Sam to take the shot right now. Still, if Dean trusted he could do it, then so could I.

"When we go through the door, you stay behind me, at least till we know it's not going to attack outright." He patted me on the arm comfortingly, "If we're lucky I can take it down before you even need to speak."

I didn't think any of us believed that…

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I'm back! I had an awesome holiday, and even wrote a couple of chapters for you! I just have to get them typed up! So we are back into it, enjoy!**

 **Thankyou to Sallyannerenee for reviewing! As always I love reviews!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	34. Chapter 34: Deception

I didn't like this plan. Sam seemed convinced it would work, and Emily had agreed to it, but then, I also didn't think either of them was really in the right state to make the decision…

And yet, here we were. I resisted the urge to check, again, that Emily wanted to go through with this.

Taylor was her best friend, I knew that, and she would do whatever it took to see her safe. I could see where she was coming from.

I just gave her hand a squeeze instead. She squeezed back, hard, a silent confirmation that she was more afraid than she looked.

We waited just in the tree line for a few more moments, giving Sam time to limp into position. I knew he was moving slowly from more injuries than he wanted to admit.

Trying not to think about all the ways this could go wrong I stepped out of the trees and moved swiftly to the door. I could feel Emily close behind me.

I held my gun ready in front of me as we moved into the cabin, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the change in light…and several more to process the image in front of me.

When there was no immediate attack, and I didn't start shooting, Emily moved into the room, and froze beside me.

We were expecting to see a terrified Taylor and a monster wearing either my face or Sam's. Instead, we were faced with two Taylors, looking terrified from where they sat on the floor staring at each other from opposite corners at the back of the room…

Somehow, I hadn't even considered this possibility.

The damn thing had thought this through. We couldn't attack either of them without fear of hurting the real Taylor.

I glanced at Emily, making sure to keep both Taylors in sight.

She looked between me and the Taylors, then shrugged a little. "Guess I'm on…" She said quietly.

I raised an eyebrow, and nodded, surprised at how well she seemed to be taking this turn of events. I guess a monster is a little less scary when it's in the body of a young woman. I just hoped she didn't end up underestimating it…

"It's ok Taylor, we're going to get you out of here." She told the two girls cowering at the back of the room. Neither of them moved. They didn't even look at us.

She cleared her throat nervously and tried again. "I…I don't know what he…she…it…" She faltered for a moment before continuing, "What it told you. But it is going to be ok. We will work out the real you and get you out of here safely."

I glanced at Emily again, proud of her for managing to sound so confident. I could only hope that Taylor believed us and would give us a sign.

When there was yet again no response she took a step towards them, holding her silver necklace in front of her like a shield.

I moved with her, doing my best to follow her lead. It was hard. I had a lot less control when I wasn't the one leading…but I had to trust that she knew her friend well enough to get this right.

She took another step forward, this time moving closer to the Taylor in the corner on the right.

"No!" Emily jumped at the fearful cry from the left hand Taylor.

"You don't want me to approach her?" Emily asked carefully, studying the one who'd spoken. The other hadn't moved.

The Taylor shook her head shakily, but kept her focus on the other, as though waiting for her to attack.

"Why?" Emily asked.

The Taylor shot her a quick glance, "She'll hurt you. Please…Emily, get out of here before she hurts you…"

I honestly couldn't tell if we were talking to the real Taylor. She sounded genuinely scared, not just for herself, but for Emily's safety…but I knew how convincing these damn things could be.

I glanced at Emily, and saw that her eyes were shining with unshed tears. I could only imagine what was going through her head right now. And yet, when she spoke again, her voice was steady.

"I'm not going to leave you." She directed the comment towards both of them, clearly not yet ready to believe the Taylor talking to her. She took another step towards the still silent Taylor on the right, who let out a quiet sob and shook her head almost imperceptibly.

The Taylor on the left however just glanced at her again, but this time…this time there was a flash of something other than fear. There was a flash of anger in those eyes. Sam had warned me that this monster was unstable, full of anger…but I also knew how strong Taylor was, and couldn't be sure this wasn't just her strength showing through as anger at Emily continuing to put herself in danger…

Was it the deceptive quiet of the Taylor Emily was approaching that we should be worried about?

I hated just standing here, waiting with my gun aimed between them until Emily gave me a signal…and what if she got it wrong? Was I right to let her make the choice? She'd never forgive herself if she got it wrong.

I knew that she was just as aware as me of how high the risks were in this horrible game. She was silent and still for several moments, just staring at one Taylor and then the other as if waiting for an epiphany.

The only movement in the room was the silver necklace swinging slightly in her hand.

I started to worry that she had frozen, unable to make a decision.

Then, without warning, she threw the necklace towards the Taylor on the right…and all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! I know, I know, I just couldn't resist one more cliffhanger as we reach the end of the story! I will do my best to not leave you hanging for too long!**

 **Thankyou to HakSem and Sallyannerenee for reviewing!**


	35. Chapter 35: Decision

I knew I had to make a decision. We couldn't stand here forever.

I was sure I knew which one was the real Taylor…just…not sure enough to let Sam or Dean shoot the other.

If I got it wrong…

I stared closely at one, and then the other. I made my decision.

Making eye contact with the Taylor closest to me, the one on the right, I gave the slightest of nods. She blinked in answer.

That's when I threw the necklace to her.

She caught it easily. I knew then I'd made the right choice.

The shape shifter took a moment to catch up, but so did Dean…and that almost cost me.

As soon as the shifter realised the game was over it lunged at me with a scream of inhuman rage, and, despite knowing the danger, I was too slow to react. It still looked like my friend.

One step further and I hate to think what would have happened.

Fortunately for me, Sam and Dean did not suffer from the same hesitation. Now that they knew who to shoot both of them fired.

My ears were assaulted with the sound of multiple shots being fired within close range, but I barely noticed the sound when faced with the horror of seeing the bullets tear into the body of my best friend.

I knew it wasn't her…but it looked like her…it sounded like her…

I saw the body hit the ground, and for the second time today I saw a pool of blood spreading from the body of not only the monster in front of me, but also the demon from years ago.

I turned and ran from the cabin, falling to my knees in the dirt and retching. The pain in my shoulder barely registered against the pain in my head and my heart.

I flinched when Sam knelt down beside me and gently brushed my hair out of my face.

"Shh, shh, it's ok, it's ok. It's just me." He spoke quietly, gently, like he feared I'd go bolting off like a wild animal. "You're safe. Taylor's safe. Everything's going to be ok."

He carefully wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into his chest. I realised I was shaking.

"I've got you." He told me gently.

I finally let go, collapsing against him as I broke down sobbing.

He held me, rocking gently back and forth, not talking, just being there, strong and calm.

After a while I felt him shift slightly and heard the sound of footsteps emerging from the cabin and the voices of Dean and Taylor talking quietly.

Then Taylor crouched down in front of us. We looked at each other for a moment, and then she had her arms wrapped around me and I was hugging her as tight as I could with one arm.

"You're ok." I whispered, as much to myself as her.

She gave a teary sounding laugh, "Yeah Em, I'm ok, thanks to you." She moved back a little so she could look me in the eye. "You were so brave in there. You…you saved my life."

"Anytime." I told her quietly.

Dean cleared his throat dramatically, and we both laughed, glad for the break in tension.

"You too Dean, and Sam. You two both definitely helped." Emily told them cheekily.

They chuckled.

"You're welcome." Dean told her with a smile. "Now, let's get out of here. I believe you guys have a promise to keep…time for a trip to the hospital."

I nodded, "No arguments here." The adrenaline was wearing off way to fast, leaving more and more pain in its wake.

Even Sam didn't protest, just nodded quietly.

Dean and Emily helped to lift me to my feet. Dean kept an arm around me, no doubt waiting to see if I was going to fall back down again.

Now that we were both upright, I looked at Taylor more closely. "Did he…did it hurt you?"

She shrugged a little, "I'll have some bruises, but I'll be fine. Looks like I got off a whole lot lighter than you guys."

I smiled at her, "I'm glad to hear it."

Emily changed places with Dean, freeing him to help Sam, who was waiting patiently on the ground…a good sign that that hospital trip was definitely in order. It wasn't that I saw him as impatient, but nor was he someone to sit around and wait for someone else to help him do anything he could do himself.

Once we were all upright we started the slow limp out of the woods.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! As promised a much shorter wait for a change! I hope you liked it! I'm thinking there will be maybe two more chapters to go (unless the story has other ideas! ;) )**

 **Thankyou to Sallyannerenee for continuing to review!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	36. Chapter 36: Relief

I had no idea what Emily's plan was, but when I saw the Taylor on the right jump up, I had my gun aimed at her in an instant…only to see her holding the silver necklace in front of herself protectively.

I realised in that instant that I was aimed at the wrong person, and the shifter took that moment's mistake to lunge at Emily. I re-aimed, having to wait an extra moment for a clean shot between the girls because it was already too close.

Then Sam and I were filling it with silver.

I watched it hit the ground, a pool of blood quickly forming around it. Dead.

I let out a breath of relief, tucked my gun back into my waistband, then looked up to check on the girls.

Emily had gone white as a sheet, staring in horror at the body on the floor before bolting out of the cabin. I heard her retching outside.

Sam nodded in her direction from the window and I nodded back at him. He would take care of Emily.

I moved over to Taylor. She was still standing in the same position, in the corner with the necklace held in front of her. She had a look of shock on her face, staring down at the body. Emily had had the misfortune of seeing us kill before, no doubt the reason for her reaction. For Taylor, on the other hand, this was a first and I don't think she knew how to handle it.

I stepped carefully around the body so that I was standing between it and her. "Taylor? Look at me, Taylor."

Slowly she looked up at me, and a faint look of relief crossed her face. "It's over." She breathed.

I nodded, "It's over. You're safe."

Her hand dropped and she quickly closed the space between us, wrapping her arms around me like I was a life-preserver in the middle of the ocean.

The intensity of the hug caught me off guard for a moment, and then I was holding her tight, letting her know that I was not going to let go until she was ready. The support was all she needed to let go, and soon I could feel her sobbing into my shirt.

I stood there rubbing slow circles on her back, giving her all the time she needed. I knew there was nothing I could say that would make what she had just seen ok. It would just take time.

Slowly the sobs died down, and the tension in her body relaxed, till she was just resting against my chest, head over my heart.

It was a strangely calmly feeling, just standing there holding her close, knowing that she trusted me and cared for me…though I still couldn't work out why.

I didn't want to break the moment and go back to reality, but reality is hard to avoid.

"Are Emily and Sam ok?" She asked quietly, head tilting slightly so that she was looking up at me.

"They will be." I answered honestly, "They're just outside, and they could probably do with some medical treatment."

She nodded a little, "Emily didn't look so good."

She took my hand as we separated, sighing a little, as though she didn't want the moment to end either. I gave her hand a squeeze, and she squeezed back.

I stayed between her and the body as we moved to the door. I would have to clean up before anyone found the body, but I was going to get Sam and the girls to the hospital first. Then I could come back, with a can of gas, to ensure that all evidence of what happened here was gone.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Sorry for the long wait! I am doing GISHWHES this year, so I have been crazy busy! I didn't want to abandon you all completely though, so I have been writing a little here and there as I find a few minutes, so I have a half chapter to keep you going till next week!**

 **Thankyou to ncsupnatfan and Sallyannerenee for reviewing!**


	37. Chapter 37: Support

I stopped just outside the door, looking at the sad sight in front of me.

Sam and Emily were sitting together in the dirt. They looked so…fragile, like a strong breeze would be enough to break them. They were two of the strongest people I knew. The whole picture was just wrong.

Dean put his hand comfortingly on my back. "It'll be ok." He assured me again quietly.

I nodded vaguely.

"Go on." He nudged me gently, "Let her know that you're ok."

I wiped at my face, trying to rub away the tears, then moved slowly over to stand in front of Emily. After a moment I let Dean's hand go to crouch down in front of her.

She looked up at me and I could see the tears still running down her face. I didn't know what to say, so I just moved closer and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her as tight as I dared without hurting her. She had her good arm wrapped around me almost instantly, holding me close. I realised just how close we'd come to loosing each other, and started to cry again.

"You're ok." She whispered in my ear, as if I needed to be reminded.

I gave a teary laugh. "Yeah Em, I'm ok, thanks to you." Thank God we knew each other so well. Still, I could hardly believe that she had walked in there after what she had clearly been through already to help Dean save me.

I shifted back a little to look her in the eye. "You were so brave in there. You…you saved my life."

She smiled at me, "Anytime." And I knew I felt the same.

Dean, still standing close by, cleared his throat dramatically. Emily and I laughed, and I turned to smile at him. "You too Dean, and Sam," I added, smiling at him too, "You two both definitely helped." I smirked at Dean, and they both chuckled.

Dean smirked at me for a moment, then gave me a genuine smile, "You're welcome. Now, let's get out of here." He looked at Sam and Emily, "I believe you guys have a promise to keep…time for a trip to the hospital."

I looked over the pair of them more closely, and couldn't help but agree that a hospital trip was definitely overdue. Later I'd ask exactly what had happened, but right now I was just glad that the monster was gone and we were all still here.

Emily nodded at him, "No arguments here." She wiped her face, looking suddenly exhausted and I was sure she was in a lot of pain.

I moved around a little so that I could wrap an arm around her waist and, with Dean supporting her from the other side, we got her to her feet. I could see the pain in her eyes as we moved her, but she didn't make a sound.

While I was watching her, she was studying me. "Did he…did it hurt you?"

Of course she was still worrying about me. I shrugged a little, "I'll have some bruises, but I'll be fine." Honestly it was only now the adrenaline was wearing off that all the aches and pains were making themselves known, and they could wait. "Looks like I got off a whole lot lighter than you guys." I told her, trying to keep my tone light.

She smiled at me, "I'm glad to hear it."

Dean looked at me from behind her. "You got her?" He mouthed.

I nodded, moving around to support her better so that he could go and help Sam. I had been so distracted that I hadn't realised that poor Sam was still sitting in the dirt silently, and it worried me. Emily and I exchanged a look as Dean helped him up with a careful confidence that said he'd carried Sam out of worse situations that this, and then we slowly followed them out of the woods.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Once again I am so sorry for the long delays! I am just so busy at the moment and my studies have to take priority I'm afraid! When I manage to get to the end of this one I'm going to take a bit of a break to focus on studying before I start the next instalment so that I can do it justice!**

 **Thankyou so much to tara hitge, Sallyannerenee and ncsupnatfan for your reviews! It keeps me motivated to keep going, however slowly, knowing there are people eagerly awaiting the next chapter!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers! I love knowing that there are people still discovering and enjoying my stories!**


	38. Chapter 38: The Rest Of The Story

We made it out of the woods and Dean drove us to the hospital.

I'd like to say that Sam fell asleep on the way there, but sleep is a good thing, and Sam passing out in the front seat after a head injury was anything but.

Both he and Emily had been admitted on arrival. Then there had been the inevitable barrage of questions from doctors, nurses and then police. Exhausting hours of focusing on keeping my story straight, knowing that I had to protect not just myself but also Emily, Sam and Dean.

It had been a relief to finally get a few minutes to myself. I had to go check on Emily soon, but right now I was sitting on a bench out the front of the hospital in the cool night air. Just watching the calm normality of the cars going past on the street nearby. Taking a break from everything. I'd told our agreed on story more times than I could count, and soon I would have to tell the real story of how I'd come to be in that cabin in need of rescuing. I needed everything to stop for a while.

I felt, more than saw, Dean approach and sit down next to me. He didn't speak, just sat with me in quiet companionship until I was ready to talk.

"I needed some fresh air." I told him quietly.

He nodded. "I worked that out when you weren't in Emily's room."

I sighed. "I'll go and sit with her in a minute."

I felt guilty for not having been to see her yet, or asking Dean how he and Sam were coping, but there was just so much going on in my head right now. I just couldn't face their pain too.

"I'm sorry." Dean said quietly.

I finally looked over at him, confused. "For what?"

"I thought I was doing the right thing. That I was keeping you safe." He sighed heavily. "I was wrong…again. He got to you anyway."

I realised he was talking about asking me to stay at the dorms while he went looking for Sam and Emily.

I shrugged. "You didn't know. It was supposed to be a werewolf. You told me not to open the door to anyone but you or Sam or Emily…So I didn't." My voice broke a little at the memory and Dean took my hand, offering silent support.

I swallowed and continued talking. "It was you, but something was wrong. I knew something was wrong…but it was too late. I'd already opened the door and let…let it in, before I realised." I frowned, remembering. "It, looked like you, sounded like you, but it didn't…speak like you, or act like you. You know?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I know. I hate shifters."

We both fell quiet again.

"I fought back." I told him eventually. "I didn't want to go with him."

He chuckled a little, "I never doubted it."

I smiled for a moment, then sighed and decided I might as well tell the rest now that I'd started.

"I threw a silver clip at him, and as soon as he grabbed it I was sure. I don't think I could ever see such fury in your eyes…such madness." Dean made a sound that may have been disbelief or denial, but didn't say anything. "I ran. I was shouting, begging for help. I ran to the security guard…but, it was you." I sniffed and roughly wiped away a stray tear. Dean just held my hand firmly.

"He caught up to me just before I got there. Grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear. Told me to calm down and play nice or he'd…" My own voice dropped to a whisper, "He'd snap my neck and be gone before the guard even knew what had happened."

Dean took in a sharp breath, and his grip on my hand tightened reflexively, protectively. I held onto him.

"It was all just a misunderstanding, that's what he told the guard. I'd just overreacted to a stranger in the halls with everything that had been going on. He was FBI, at least as far as the guard as concerned, he accepted it without question." I gave up on holding back the tears.

"He walked me to the edge of the woods. I…I freaked out, tried again to fight back, but…I might as well have been a child for all he cared. I couldn't break away, couldn't even make him flinch. He just held onto my arm and dragged me along till I thought my arm would break if I fought anymore." My voice dropped to an ashamed whisper and I looked at the ground, "I stopped fighting. I went with him quietly after that."

Dean moved to kneel in front of me and lifted my chin so I was looking at him. "Hey, listen to me, you did nothing wrong, ok? Sam couldn't fight this thing off, you made the right call. You getting a broken arm wouldn't have helped anyone, ok?"

I sniffed and nodded a little, trying to accept what he was telling me. "Ok."

"Ok." He nodded, and moved to sit next to me again.

"I thought he was scary when he caught the silver…" I continued before I lost the nerve, "Then we got to the cabin…and Sam and Emily weren't there."

I couldn't even try to describe it. It was then I had realised just how…inhuman he was. That scream…It would haunt my dreams. That and the way he had thrown me across the room like I was a ragdoll…

Dean was shaking my shoulder gently and I realised I'd zoned out for a minute there. "Hey, you're safe now, remember?"

I wiped my eyes again and nodded.

"At least his shouting alerted us that we needed to get back to the cabin." Dean told me.

I thought about that for a moment nodded, and then shrugged. "Well, it worked that out too."

Dean nodded.

"Anyway…crazy as he was, he knew that none of you would hurt me. So, suddenly I was faced with…myself." I sighed, "You know, I had hoped that I would never have to see my face on another person again…"

Dean chuckled a little, "Yeah…"

"But, it also knew that it had to keep you from working out the real me. I was still on the floor where he'd tossed me…" Dean took another sharp breath, and I realised I hadn't explained that bit out loud, I shrugged a little, "He…it…reminded me again of how fast it could kill me. Told me if it was going to die it was taking me with it. If I so much as opened my mouth or moved…" I shuddered. "And…then you were there."

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Look at that! A proper sized chapter in a reasonable time frame! I'm a little proud of myself! lol I couldn't finish the story without giving Taylor a chance to tell her side! I think there are just a couple of little things to wrap up, and then we are done for this one!**

 **Thankyou to ncsupnatfan and Sallyannerenee for reviewing!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	39. Chapter 39: Safe

I came to slowly…feeling a distinct sense of dejavu. My brain felt fuzzy and confused, and my whole body felt achy and weird.

I remembered coming to previously, in the cabin in the woods, but I was pretty sure I'd gotten out of there…

I felt like there was something very important I was missing…and then it hit me.

"Emily!" I bolted upright, sending my brain and my vision swimming, "Taylor!" The girls were in trouble!

"Whoa! Whoa, take it easy Sammy!" There were hands on my arms gently, but firmly pushing me back down. I resisted, I had to help them!

"They're safe. You're safe. Look at me Sammy, focus!" I realised it was Dean, his face right up near mine, his calm but firm voice matching his hands on my arms.

I did as he asked, focusing on his face, the steady pressure of his hands, and the panic slowly began to subside.

Soon I had calmed enough to let him lower me back onto the bed below me. I also began to notice more of my surroundings…such as the fact that I was, in fact, on a bed. The walls around me were white, and there was a persistent beeping noise nearby that was slowing as I calmed.

I looked back at Dean, who was waiting with a look on his face that I knew all too well. The look of barely concealed worry. I was the cause of that look far too often.

"I'm in a hospital?" I asked, still trying to put together the events between waking up in the cabin and waking up in the hospital.

Dean's brow furrowed, but his voice was steady, "Yeah Sammy, you're in hospital. Gave us a bit of a scare, but doc says you'll be good as new soon."

I frowned in worried confusion, "The girls?"

"They're going to be fine too. They're keeping Emily in overnight to be safe, but the dislocated shoulder was the worst of her injuries. Taylor…her injuries are more emotional than physical, but she's tough, she'll be alright. They're both sleeping in Emily's room at the moment." He gave a fond little smile at the thought.

I nodded, wincing a little at the movement. At least both the girls were ok, and Dean was clearly ok. I could figure the rest out as I went.

"You in pain?" Dean asked, not missing the wince.

I shrugged, "Yeah, but it's fine." I now knew the fuzzy, weird feeling was probably the result of some good strong painkillers.

Dean continued to study me with concern, but he didn't argue.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment to try and wrangle my thoughts into order. I was now sure that Emily and I had escaped from the cabin, and then… The shifter, it got Taylor.

"The shifter?" I asked.

"Dead." Dean replied, "I'm going to do clean up shortly, I just didn't want to go until you were awake."

I smiled at him gratefully.

He was still giving me that look.

"I took a bad knock to the head, didn't I?" I decided there was no point skirting the issue.

He nodded, "Yeah. You…you were in and out of consciousness by the time we took the shifter out and headed to the hospital. Doc said you're lucky it didn't cause brain swelling." He gave a half-hearted smirk, "That hard head of yours is good for something."

I chuckled a little, then sobered. "I'm sorry Dean. Damn thing came out of no-where. I…I hardly remember a thing between him hitting me and waking up here…"

Dean swallowed, pushing down his emotions, "It's ok Sammy. We're all alive and the monster's dead, that's all that matters."

I nodded, "Yeah. Thanks."

"Anytime." He smiled.

I closed my eyes again, feeling suddenly exhausted.

"You rest now, ok? I'll be back soon." Dean gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

I nodded, already feeling myself start to drift. Everything was going to be ok.

* * *

 **Hi everybody! Couldn't finish the story without a little Sammy time! Just one more chapter to go! Thank you all for staying to the end through my terribly slow updates!**

 **Thankyou to ncsupnatfan and Sallyannerenee for reviewing!**

 **Welcome to my newest followers and favourite-ers!**


	40. Chapter 40: Until Next Time

After a week in the hospital I was completely over it, and relieved when the doctor told me I was cleared to leave.

Normally I'd have signed myself out days ago. I hated hospitals, and had survived far worse injuries that this with just Dean's help.

But, I had stayed, for one key reason. I didn't want to make Dean feel like we had to move on. For the first time in a long while, he was happy.

He would no doubt deny it if I pointed it out, but I wasn't stupid. Hell, I probably knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. I could see it.

In just the week and a half we'd been here, he had formed a connection with Taylor. It was something he so rarely let himself do.

It reminded me, with a pang of sadness, of the way he and Jo used to be. The little smiles, the teasing, the flirting that never went any further. In their eyes it couldn't. It was a bad idea in our line of work to let yourself get too attached. Not like it mattered that they were 'only friends' when he'd had to deal with her death. I suspect the regret probably made it worse.

I didn't want to see him waste another chance at happiness, and, even better, with a girl who understood what we did for a living. I didn't want him to have another regret.

I shook myself mentally, pushing away the depressing thoughts of the past. No, I was determined to see him give himself a chance at happiness.

I looked around the room one more time, checking that I hadn't left anything behind…and grabbing a few supplies for later, one of the benefits of a hospital visit.

Dean and the girls were waiting for me out the front so I headed down the hall, giving a friendly wave as I passed one of the nurses who had been looking after me for the last week. She waved back, giving me a grin…and bumped into the wall in her distraction. I had to suppress the urge to laugh, she hadn't exactly been subtle in her ogling.

I was still grinning as I walked out the front doors. "I'm free!" I declared flinging my arms wide.

The girls laughed and gave me a hug. Emily was still in a sling, and they both had bruises that would take a while to fade, but they were both smiling happily. I wrapped an arm around each of them, feeling a wave of affection for the pair of them.

" 'bout time" Dean grumbled jokingly. "I hate hospitals…and I wasn't even the one admitted!"

I laughed and nodded, releasing the two girls. "I apologise for getting bashed across the head…again"

Dean smirked, "So you should."

Taylor laughed, "Be nice to him" she scolded him, jabbing him in the ribs with an elbow.

Dean lurched theatrically to the side, grabbing his ribs. "Oh! She wounds me!" He cried, making Taylor crack up laughing.

I gave a snort of laughter as Emily turned to grin at me, "Ah, young love." She sighed dramatically.

Dean gave an awkward little shuffle at the 'L' word, but Taylor just smiled happily and took his hand.

Dean's expression shifted to an almost comical mix of happiness and confusion as he continued to try and figure out why Taylor liked him so much.

I shook my head slightly as we headed to the carpark. Maybe one day he would see himself the way we all did…I could only hope.

The mood turned more sombre as we drove the girls back to the campus.

I wish I could suggest that we stay a while longer. Dean had given me the option several times over the years. But, we both knew we couldn't. Not right now.

The world needed saving…again. Then, maybe, I hoped we could talk about the possibility of a life that was more than just hunting.

We had both accepted that leaving the hunting life just wasn't the way our lives would work, but that didn't mean there couldn't be something more.

And that was the thought that I held onto as we said our tearful goodbyes to the two girls who had managed to wiggle their way into not only our lives, but our hearts too.

Emily and I pretended not to watch as Dean gave Taylor a tender kiss on the head as he gave her a final hug.

"It's not goodbye," I told them as I wrapped them in one last tight hug. "It's just…until next time."

Dean gave a snort of laughter, "You sound like a damn greeting card!"

I punched him on the arm, but it made me happy to see the girls still laughing as we drove away.

* * *

 **And there you have it! The final chapter of a story that I hope you all enjoyed as much as I did!**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who has read, followed, favourite-ed, and especially those who reviewed! It means so much to me that you guys like reading what I like writing!**

 **Thank you, too, for putting up with my terribly inconsistent updating! This will not be the last you see of the girls, but I am planning on taking a break from multi-chapter stories for a while, so that I can focus on finishing my studies without worrying about neglecting my wonderful fans! I won't be abandoning you though! I have a few one-shot ideas that I will be putting up when I need a break from studying!**

 **In the meantime, feel free to read some of my older stories if you are a new follower! I'd love to know what you think of them too!**

 **Until next time!**


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